Tiny Frisk AU one-shots
by Rose Jennison
Summary: This is an AU in which Frisk is tiny compared to all the monsters, only a few inches tall. Because of the size difference between Frisk and the Monsters, several things in the game happen a bit differently. Or maybe not at all. I'll be using one-shots to show those differences. G/t, macro micro.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.**

I'm just posting these as they come to me. So these chapters won't be in chronological order. I'll always try to give some context so it's not too confusing though.

For this first chapter, it is important to note that Frisk did not come from a happy home. This won't really get referenced in the chapter, but it has caused Frisk to not be very eager to leave the Underground, even if it is inhabited by giants. So they've been staying with the skelebros for a while.  
Why they are with the skeletons instead of Toriel will be covered in another chapter. I will let you know that she has met them Sans and Papyrus before this chapter takes place though.

* * *

Frisk sat on the smooth tabletop, looking up and listening to the giant skeleton sitting across from them. The young human was forever grateful that most of the monsters didn't mind her lack of vocal communication, and Sans one of the ones that handled it best. The skeleton could go on and on and Frisk could just sit back and listen, just as they were doing now.

Sans had taken them to a place other than Grillby's for once. This place was classy and uncrowded, and it wasn't even in Snowdin. Frisk wasn't sure how far out of Snowdin it was, because Sans had used one of his infamous short cuts to get them there. Traveling that way usually made Frisk a bit nauseous, which was why they hadn't ordered food right away and just started talking.

Well, Sans started talking anyway.

It had been a very pleasant conversation from the beginning, and had transitioned into sugary sweet when Sans started talking about how he first 'met' Toriel. Frisk knew from experience how adorable their adoptive mother and duncle could be, but this was taking it to a whole new level.

Suddenly, their large friend fell silent. He stared down at them; his smile was still in place but the light of his eyes had dimmed a bit. Frisk sat up straighter, sensing the change in atmosphere.

"one day, though, i noticed she wasn't laughing very much." Frisk leaned forward, concern for their new mother evident in their body language.

"so I asked her what was up. then she told me something strange." His eyes suddenly brightened, and his gaze became intense. Frisk felt a tightness start to grow between their shoulder blades. "if a human every comes through this door, could you please, please promise me something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?"

The words were exactly what Frisk had come to expect from Toriel, and they made the tiny human relax a little. The tightness in their shoulders remained though.

"now, i hate making promises. and this woman, i didn't even know her name. but...someone who sincerely likes bad jokes has an integrity you can't say 'no' to. do you get what I'm saying? that promise i made, you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?"

Frisk shook their head slowly. Sans' skull turned away for a moment.

"...buddy."

When he turned back, the light had completely vanished from his eyes, and his voice held a sinister tone.

" **...You'd be dead where you stand.** "

Frisk felt a cold sense of dread crawl up over their body. No...no Sans wouldn't have...accept he just admitted he would have. When Frisk met him they had lived purely on Toriel's good graces and Sans sense of honor. Was that all Sans had ever felt toward them? A sense of duty? That couldn't be...all the good times and memories they'd had together... Was all of that really just for Toriel's sake? Frisk...they didn't know how to respond to this. They felt their breath shortening, and their muscles began to tremble. Why had Sans told them this?

…what did the giant skeleton intend to do now?

Meanwhile, Sans had come back to himself after his last statement. His first instinct was to make a joke of the whole thing, but one look at the kid's pale face and trembling body told him that was not a good idea. He chuckled nervously.

"hey, lighten up small fry, that was ages ago. Besides haven't I done a great job protecting you?" He looked at the kid, but they just continued to stare at him. His anxiety and guilt began to increase, had the kid ever looked that fearful with anyone before? Maybe they could do with a change in subject.

"heh, things got a little heavy huh? how about we go visit undyne and papyrus, they should be training right around now." Sans reached forward, planning to put the kid in their usual spot in his hood. But his movement seemed to have broken the spell of stillness.

Frisk gasped and scrambled backward, trying to avoid the huge hand.

"whoa, whoa! take it easy kid, calm down!"

Frisk didn't listen, the sudden bout of panic causing their flight instincts to rear up. The problem was that, up on the table top, there was no where to run. The table was much too high for the little human to safely jump from, and the other tables were pretty well spaced...

Guessing Frisk's line of thought, Sans began to panic a little himself.

"come on kid, don't do anything crazy. i know things got a little weird just now, but i'm not going to hurt ya." Sans tried reaching for his tiny friend again, slower this time, trying not to scare them anymore. Unfortunately, this gave Frisk more time to act.

Frisk bolted away from Sans hand. They couldn't go far on the table, and truly they didn't have any plans for the long run, they only felt the driving need to _get away_.

Frisk saw the edge of the table approaching, and turned before they got too close. Unfortunately, the human didn't account for how well polished and slippery the tabletop's surface would be. Instead of turning, they began to slide. A different, much more visceral, kind of panic took hold of them then. Frisk flailed their arms, trying desperately to change course, but they only fell down and kept sliding. Frisk let out a small shriek as they flew feet first off of the table.

There was a moment of gut wrenching free fall. Frisk squeezed their eyes closed, only to open them again when they felt themselves come to a painless stop. Vibrant blue greeted their eyes.

Realizing they had been caught, Frisk let out a shuttering sigh of relief. A few moments later, Frisk felt bony fingers close around them. Dread seeped back into them, as they remembered why they had been running in the first place.

"dang it kid, you almost gave me a heart attack. don't scare these old bones like that!" Sans laughed, the tired relief clear in his voice as he looked down at the human. "you sure can be a **handful** , you know that kiddo?"

Frisk whined.

"kid?"

The soft sobs reached his ears, and he felt guilt twist his gut. A glance up showed that several of the other patrons were shooting the pair concerned looks.

"...let's talk this over someplace less crowded." Sans muttered. Without waiting for a response he took a shortcut.

Frisk felt nausea sweep through them before cold air stung their skin. They glanced around, seeing a snow covered trail and barren trees. They were on the path leading into Snowdin.

A part of Frisk was happy to be closer to home. Another part worried that they had been taken to an area without witnesses. This fear was somewhat assuaged when Frisk felt themselves being lowered and set onto a rock. The same one they'd been standing on when they first met Papyrus.

Sans sat himself down a couple feet away. It made it so Frisk was just out of his reach; he hoped that the distance would help Frisk calm down a bit.

After a minute of nothing happening, the intensity of the Frisk's fear began to dissipate and reason reentered their mind. They took in Sans appearance: slumped shoulders, downcast eyes, fidgeting hands, the distance. Their tears evaporated along with their fear, leaving uncertainty in their wake.

"Um, Sans?" The skeleton looked up when the little human called to them.

"hey kid, feelin' any better?"

Frisk nodded.

"good, that's good. sorry i got you so worked up back there."

Frisk shook their head. "It's okay."

"nah, i really don't think it is. you really think i'd hurt ya?"

"No, not really." Frisk said after some thought.

"really? then why the freak out?" Sans asked, giving them a critical eye. Frisk fidgeted with the hem of their shirt.

"Well...when you explained about Toriel...and what you would have done..." Frisk gripped the cloth more tightly and looked down. "Do you...do you only stay with me because you promised Mom?"

Sans spine straightened in surprise. The sudden movement made Frisk look up.

"aw man, that's not what i meant kid! that deal with tori, it's ancient history. i'll keep the promise of course, but that's not the only reason I stick with ya. i only brought it up to finally get it off my chest."

"Really?" Frisk asked hopefully.

"course not, small fry. you're one of the best listeners i know, and you're cute as a button. not to mention pap adores you. i can see why he does, it's hard not to. you add so much color to our lives, to my life. we don't get a lot of that around here, since we're always covered in snow." Sans said the last part with a wink, and Frisk giggled.

"You even laugh at my puns. What's not to love?"

Frisk blushed darkly, but looked at Sans with a beaming smile. They didn't say anything, they didn't need to. A moment later, Frisk let out a big yawn that made Sans chuckle. The little human always got tired after an emotional outburst, positive or negative.

"ready to go back home kid?"

Frisk nodded. Sans scooted forward, and shifted to his knees. He placed his hand palm up next to Frisk, and was highly relieved when Frisk didn't hesitate to leave the rock for his hand.

"No shortcut this time okay?"

"sure thing small fry. You wanna ride in my hood again?"

"No, this is okay." Frisk said, curling up in his palm. Sans felt his bones turn to mush. He still managed to start forward though.

"alright, let's head home then."

 **A.N.**

I first saw the idea for this AU on tumblr. kuberish tagged/tiny!frisk-AU, and rocko-newjeans tagged/tiny!frisk-au have the stuff I am most familiar with. I'd recommend checking them out.

The tumblr of minisculemiscreant also has a few chapters of a tiny frisk story, starting from the beginning of the game, called Tiny Soul. It can be found under their fanfiction tag.


	2. Meeting Flowey

Things had been weird enough, Frisk thought. It was weird to wake up at the bottom of a pit, completely unharmed. It was also weird that they had been resting in a bed full of flowers that were as big as they were.

"Howdey!"

When a flower that stood taller than a full grown adult started talking to them things entered a whole new level of strangeness.

"I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" The flower looked the child up and down, sizing them up. "Hmmm...you're new to the underground, aren'tcha?"

Frisk, still staring up at the flower in awe, barely caught the words. They managed to nod though, and the flower seemed pleased by this.

"Golly, you must be so confused! Someone ought to teach you how things work around here."

Despite the cheerful tone it was said in, that last sentence hit a little too close to home. Frisk was suddenly feeling uneasy.

"I guess little old me will have to do it. Ready? Here we go!"

Suddenly, a glowing red heart appeared in from of them. It reminded Frisk of the heart shaped pillow they liked hold each night, a comforting memory.

"See that heart?" Flowey asked excitedly. "That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being."

As the flower went on to explain about LV, Frisk's uneasiness began to grow. They couldn't place their finger on it, but something about this whole conversation felt off. Suddenly, a bunch of twirling white blobs appeared above the flower's head.

"Down here, LOVE is shared through...little white...'friendliness pellets'."

Frisk didn't like that tone. It was the kind of tone doctor's used when they said something wasn't going to hurt very much.

"Are you ready? Move around, get as many as you can!"

The blobs swiftly descended toward Frisk, and they acted on instinct. Frisk clutched their soul to their chest and dove out of the way. It wasn't too hard; they had experience evading flying objects. Flowey did not seem pleased with them.

"Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, okay?" The cheer sounded more forced now. The 'pellets' appeared and descended again. Frisk had to find shelter, but there was only one option they could see in this room...

Frisk dodged again, but this time they made a bee line for Flowey.

"Huh? What are you-"

Frisk leapt, landing at the base of Flowey's stem. The child huddled there, one arm holding their soul and one arm curled around the flower's thick stem. There was a long, awkward silence.

"Is this a joke? I said to run into the bul- 'pellets' not me."

"No, it'll hurt."

"But they're 'friendliness pellets'!"

"Getting hit hurts!" They insisted. Flowey growled in frustration, and Frisk flinched.

"Well, if you're not moving I'll just have to aim _extra carefully_."

Frisk braced for a blow, but it never came. Instead, the malevolent flower made a noise of surprise. Suddenly there was an intense heat just above their head. Flowey yelped, and the stem was wrenched up. Frisk couldn't hold on and soon found themselves falling. But instead of hitting the ground, they found themselves enveloped in a soft warmth.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor innocent youth..."

The gentle voice was the last thing Frisk heard before everything went dark.


	3. Little Wanderer

**A.N.**

The Skelebros have an arrangement with Toriel. It's hard for her to keep up the Ruins and take care of a child as young and small as Frisk, even with Frisk being pretty independent. So Frisk ends up spending some days with the skeletons and other days with Toriel. Toriel was reluctant about this at first, and only allowed Frisk to stay with the bros during the day, coming to get them each night or having Sans drop Frisk off. But when the bros turn out to be trustworthy she allows Frisk to start staying overnight. This story is about what the skeletons discover during these first sleepovers.

* * *

The skeleton brothers had anticipated numerous problems when they agreed to take in their new tiny friend. There were the normal things to worry about when taking care of a child: keeping them well fed, ensuring their safety, entertaining and educating them. Toriel had the education thing down, but the skeletons had to think of all the rest. Plus there were the special worries that came from the child being so very small: extra safety concerns, giving them easy access to different parts of the house, hiding places should they ever get unexpected guests.

Papyrus took it as a challenge to devise ways for the human to safely get around. He built little ladders, some with wood and others with strings, and placed them all around the house. He also marked trails for the human to follow when they went through high traffic areas, like the upstairs hallway. He even found a whistle that was small enough for them to carry around, once he discovered the human had troubles speaking up.

There was one thing the brother's hadn't accounted for though.

Papyrus and Sans had each set up a sleeping area for Frisk on their bedside tables. They had unanimously decided these to be good locations, as it would allow Frisk easy access to one of them if they ever needed something during the night. Papyrus had gone through the trouble of finding a small pad for them to lay on and blankets that were all the correct size, while Sans had just grabbed bits of soft fabric and made a nest out of them. Frisk loved both beds.

The human spent their first overnight in Papyrus's room, happily snuggled into the squishy pad. The tall skeleton had fallen asleep with a grin on his face, head turned to watch them. When he woke up the next morning, he found the human to be much closer than they were last night. They were now curled up right in front of him, on his pillow.

Papyrus's high pitched laugh startled the human awake. They looked up at the skeleton blearily, even as he scooped them up to talk.

"I UNDERSTAND IT IS HARD TO STAY AWAY FROM ONE AS GREAT AS MYSELF HUMAN. NEXT TIME TRY TO STAY IN BED THOUGH. YOU ARE LUCKY THAT SKELETONS DON'T MOVE MUCH IN THEIR SLEEP, AND THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS VERY OBSERVATN."

He wasn't observant enough to notice the look of confusion on Frisk's face though.

The next time they stayed overnight, they slept in Sans's room. He awoke to find Frisk sprawled out in front his alarm clock, a good distance from their nest.

"something wrong with your bed small fry?" Sans asked after nudging the human awake. Frisk shook their head slowly, and their bemusement was not lost on Sans.

"you remember getting up at all last night?" Frisk shook their head again. "this happen to you a lot? waking up in a different place than you went to sleep?"

Frisk thought about that. They often didn't wake up IN bed, but they were always in their room when they woke up. Maybe the lack of walls was affecting things.

To answer Sans, Frisk held their hand palm down and fingers spread, then tilted it left and right quickly.

"sometimes huh? we're gonna have to do something about that."

He asked Toriel about it when she came to get Frisk later that day, thinking she might already have a solution she had forgotten to mention.

"Strange, I did not realize Frisk had such a habit. I do find the child sleeping out of their bed sometimes, but I assumed they had just been falling out." Her thoughtful look turned concerned. "Will this make it dangerous for my child to stay here?"

"nah, we'll think of something. don't worry about it Tori." Sans replied with a reassuring grin.

Coming up with a solution was harder than he thought though. Putting the kid in a box or anything like that felt wrong. He kind of wanted to remove the ladders while they slept, in case they could sleep climb as well as sleep walk. That could just result in Frisk falling off the table though. It would be worse if they moved the beds to the floor and the kid wondered around there. It'd be helpful if he had more data to work with, since it had only happened a couple of times.

Neither brother had come up with a solid idea by the time Frisk came back. Neither one was able to admit that to Toriel though.

Fortunately, a solution presented itself that night.

Papyrus had an early morning session scheduled with Undyne, so he'd gone to bed before his brother and the human. Sans was sprawled out on the couch with the human laying on his sternum. He curled one hand over them protectively as he listlessly watched whatever TV show Frisk had picked out.

He continued to turn the sleepwalking problem over in his head, but his mind soon began to drift. Without meaning to, he fell asleep on the couch.

"SANS!"

The skeleton startled awake, and was met with the sight of his brother looming over him.

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT UP TO BED? YOU ARE SO LAZY!"

It took a moment for Sans's sleep heavy mind to make sense of what his brother was saying. Why wasn't he in bed? Oh yeah, he'd been staying up late hanging out with the kid...

Sans froze, suddenly afraid to move. The kid could be anywhere right now, another part of himself, the couch, the floor. They could be- exactly where he'd left them. Sans sagged in relief when he caught sight of the human, still laying under his hand and blinking up at him owlishly.

"AT LEAST YOU DISCOVERED A SOLUTION TO OUR CONUNDRUM. WELL DONE BROTHER! NOW I'M OFF TO MEET UNDYNE. SAY HELLO TO TORIEL FOR ME WHEN SHE COMES!" Papyrus strode out the door and shut it behind him. A moment later the door clacked back open. "AND FOR THE LAST TIME, PUT AWAY YOUR SOCK!" Then he was gone again.

Both human and skeleton stared after him for a minute before turning back to each other.

"you sleep well kid?"

Frisk nodded.

"good. nice to see that you weren't _restless_ during the night."

Frisk rolled their eyes at him, but they did it with a smile. The expression was broken by a big yawn.

"heh, still pretty early isn't it? you wanna head upstairs and catch a few more z's with me before breakfast?"

Frisk nodded again. Sans carefully cradled the tiny child as he stood and trudged up the stairs. The human was asleep again before he got to his door.

Not many would have guessed it, but despite his laziness Sans was very scientifically minded. So he wasn't about to assume anything from one instance of Frisk not sleep walking. It gave him a theory to test out though.

After several more trials, Sans was convinced. He switched Frisk's sleeping partner between him and Papyrus, and fell asleep in a couple different locations. In each instance, Frisk stayed put when when someone's hand rested over them.

Sans wasn't sure why this was the case. Perhaps a hand resting over the kid was enough weight to keep them from getting up in their sleep, or maybe something about the position kept the sleepwalking from being triggered. The exact reasoning probably didn't matter in the end.

Sans did know one thing though. The sight of the tiny human curled up on Pap's chest and under his large red glove was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen.

* * *

 **A.N.**

In this story Frisk is probably sleepwalking far more than any human child with a tendency for such things actually would. To be honest, I don't care too much about that. I saw a reason for Tiny Frisk to have nightly cuddles with the skelebros and I took it!

According to Wikipedia: "sleepwalking cases generally consist of simple, repeated behaviors". So Frisk's sleepwalking usually involves them just walking around a bit, or occasionally cleaning/organizing the things in their room. So the open space of a table top made their episodes much more noticeable. (Toriel has spaces in her house that are correctly scaled for humans. She's used to taking such small beings in after all. I'll try to cover that in the next chapter.)


	4. A room of your own

**A.N.** This chapter takes place shortly after the events of Chapter 2 'Meeting Flowey'. This chapter and few following it will be in chronological order.

* * *

Frisk's next few memories were jumbled and distorted. There was a fluffy softness against their skin, and bits of that gentle voice occasionally reached their ears. They thought about opening their eyes, but the darkness was so warm and peaceful. That, combined with the smooth swaying of whatever they were resting on, was enough to lull Frisk back to sleep.

Their next memories were much clearer. The swaying had stopped, and the fluff under their hands had been replaced with cool fabric. Something slick trailed down their left arm, leaving behind a tingling coolness. Frisk's mind struggled to come up with an explanation for this sensation. Their confusion only increased when they heard the gentle voice again.

"Oh dear...you poor child."

Confusion turned to curiosity. Frisk wanted to know what was happening to them, and why the voice sounded so sad. This desire, it filled them with determination. They opened their eyes. Their vision was hazy at first. They could tell something was in front of them, but couldn't make out the details. Frisk blinked several times to clear their vision, pushing themselves onto their elbows as they did so.

"My- my child, you're awake!"

Frisk froze. An enormous animal-like face loomed before them. Dark eyes rested above a short snout, a great contrast to the white expanse that filled their vision. Those eyes focused entirely on Frisk, and the human felt like they were pinning them in place. A large white hand (paw?) hovered over them, pinching something between it's fingertips.

Panic surged up in Frisk. They'd already been attacked by one large creature, and now they had to face another one?! And this one was so much bigger! The monster's face was as big as Flowey had been! They tried to scramble backwards, but the surface beneath them was unexpectedly plush and made movement awkward. They couldn't get away, so Frisk raised their left arm in front of them; as if to push the giant being away.

This made the monster very distressed.

"No, no, please! Do not be afraid my child!" The monster quickly withdrew it's hand, putting down whatever it had been holding. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins." She reached out, and Frisk flinched back. But instead of hurting them or picking them up, she delicately clasped their outstretched hand between her own.

"You are safe. As long as I am here, you are safe. I promise."

To an outside observer, it would seems as if Frisk had stalled completely. In reality, their mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Fear held Frisk in an icy grip, but as they stared up at Toriel it began to melt away. The kindness in her eyes, the concern and reassurance in her voice, were all impossibly sincere. And the fingers that could so easily crush them held their small hand without causing any pain.

As Frisk's panic began to ebb, they started to notice things. They saw that the skin of their outstretched arm was much redder than it had been earlier that day, and was now covered in a shiny gel. However, the skin of their right arm had started to ache and felt like it was stretched too tight. Out of the corner of their eye, Frisk caught sight of what the monster had been holding. It was a cue-tip, scaled to Toriel's size. One end was coated with shiny gel, just like their arm.

Logic suddenly clicked on. Somehow, Frisk had gotten hurt, and Toriel had been treating them before they had woken up. She hadn't used the cue-tip on their right arm yet, which is why the right one hurt but the left didn't.

Any lingering doubts about monster woman's good intentions faded as Frisk realized this. After all, what would be the point of healing a person if you only planned to harm or kill them later?

After several long moments of silence, Frisk nodded their acceptance of Toriel's promise. The monster woman's face, which Frisk now realized was covered in fur, beamed with joy while her shoulders dipped with relief.

"Thank you for your trust, my child. May I finish treating you wounds now?" Frisk nodded, then sat up and offered their right arm. That made Toriel smile. She picked up the cue-tip with her right hand, and her left picked up a bottle that was sitting on a table they hadn't noticed before. She dipped the cue-tip into the bottle and carefully drew it down Frisk's arm, making them shiver.

"I must apologize for this, my child." Frisk cocked their head to the side and gave Toriel a confused look. "It is my fault you received these burns. When I saw you were being attacked, I used fire magic to knock the monster away. I managed to keep the flames from touching you, but the heat from them stretched further than I anticipated."

She sounded so sad, and Frisk didn't like that. Once Toriel was done with their arm, they reached out and patted her thumb. The woman looked down at them with wide-eyed surprise; Frisk returned the look with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, little one." she said, her eyes a bit misty. "Now, do you feel pain anywhere else?"

Frisk thought about that. When they had cocked their head earlier they'd felt a twinge of pain, so they pointed to the back of their neck.

"Alright, lie on your stomach for a moment." Frisk quickly flopped over, throwing their arms in front of them so the gel wouldn't get rubbed off. Toriel chuckled as she applied the last of the salve. Suddenly something slid under Frisk and lifted them up.

Frisk let out a cry of alarm, and they quickly found themselves sitting in Toriel's palm.

"Oh! I am sorry, my child. That was thoughtless of me; I will remember to warn you from now on."

Frisk's smile was shaky, but Toriel readily accepted it.

"I have a surprise for you, if you are feeling up to it." Frisk nodded, and Toriel cradled the child against her chest. It was only now that Frisk realized their caretaker had been kneeling this whole time. Toriel shifted to stand up, and Frisk clutched the knitted material of her purple dress. They had decided to trust Toriel, but natural instinct was not so easily over written; and instinct told them it was not safe to be up this high.

Toriel protectively curled her fingers around the human.

"Do not fear, my child. I have you." That reassurance, as simple as it was, put Frisk at ease. As Toriel turned to leave, they got a panoramic of the room they were in. They now saw they had been resting on a pillow, one that lay at the head of a giant bed. There was also a bookcase, a desk, potted plants, all set to their caretaker's size. The enormity of everything was dizzying.

Toriel went out the door and turned right. After walking a short ways Toriel came to another door.

"This is it!" She carefully lowered Frisk down to the floor and they hopped off her palm. They saw that next to the Toriel sized door there was a human sized door. With an encouraging nudge from Toriel, Frisk opened it.

The room was smaller than the one they had woken up in, and mostly empty. The exception to this was a tall wooden folding screen that hid the far right corner from view. Frisk wandered over to it, and they heard Toriel come in behind them just as they reached the screen. The edge of the screen rested close to the wall, but the gap was still big enough that the human could easily slip past it. What they saw was startling in it's familiarity.

There was a bed, wardrobe, toy chest, shelf, and a couple of lamps, all scaled to human size. Really, all scaled to Frisk's size, as the bed looked better suited for a child than an adult. Frisk ran around the small space, looking through everything. They liked the striped shirts in wardrobe, though the toys were nothing special. They had just closed the lid of the toy chest when there was a sharp rap on the wooden screen. A moment later the edge of the screen was folded back to reveal a smiling Toriel.

"Do you like it? It's a room all your own!" Frisk gaped up at her. The room was for them? Really? It wasn't just a miniature guest room that Toriel was letting them use for while?

"You do like it don't you?" a note of worry had entered the woman's voice. "I want you to have a nice time living here."

To answer Toriel, Frisk slipped off their shoes, took a running leap, and flopped onto the bed. Then they sprang up and bounced on it excitedly. Toriel laughed.

"I am glad it meets your approval." She paused and sniffed. "Is something...ah! My child, please make yourself at home here, and try to rest more if you can. There are a few things I must tend to." Toriel knelt down and quickly ruffled Frisk's hair with the tip of one furry finger. The human laughed and batted at it playfully, which made Toriel's smile grow wider. After that she got up and left, moving the section of the wooden screen back into place. A moment later the large door to the hallway opened and shut.

Frisk looked around their new room some more. They found a box of shoes, which included a lot of different sizes. That was a kind of weird, but they could ask Toriel about it later. There was a few stuffed animals tucked behind the bed, large by human standards but still good for snuggling, which Frisk set next to their pillow. When all the moving around started to make their burns ache again, they decided that lying down for a bit might be a good idea.

Frisk slipped under the blankets, wiggling around until they got comfortable. They snagged one of the stuffed animals, a duck, and held it to their chest. It wasn't their heart pillow, but it would work. They thought about everything that had happened that day. Things had started out pretty scary, but they had gotten better once Toriel had entered the picture. It had been a long time since they had been greeted so warmly.

Thinking about all the trouble the giant woman had gone through for them, it made a warm glow spread through their chest. Just like when their soul had appeared earlier. The thought that they would get to see more of this strange world, both the good and the bad, it filled them with determination.

* * *

 **A.N.**

Not a whole lot of Goat Mom cuddles in this chapter, but more of those will be coming in the next one. :)

While writing this, I wondered if Frisk was a little too comfortable with the idea of staying with a stranger, especially a giant they had just met. After giving it some thought, I decided that it fit with idea I have for this Frisk's home life. This Frisk has more experience with neglect than physical abuse. Frisk's parents have a lot of fights, with Frisk occasionally getting caught in the middle. In most cases though, their parents don't really bother with them. They got their basic needs taken care of, but that's about it. So when Frisk meets Toriel in this chapter, it's like being introduced to a distant relative who likes to spoil you. Despite some lingering fear, Frisk is basking in all the positive attention they are receiving.

Plus, it's canon that pacifist Frisk makes friends easily and gets familiar with people quickly. ;P

The part where Frisk wakes up and officially meets Toriel for the first time was inspired by a gif called 'An Encounter'. It can be found on deviant art. art/An-Encounter-552099485


	5. Life with Toriel

**A.N.**

This is probably the longest single chapter I've ever written for a story. I honestly wasn't expecting that, but I'm happy with the way it turned out.

And now we present Frisk's life with Toriel. Includes a special guest star!

* * *

When Frisk awoke it was to the smell of something delicious. They sat up, sniffing the air. The scent was strong, so it's source had to be close.

Curious, Frisk got up and poked their head around the edge of the screen. Sitting several feet away was the biggest piece of pie Frisk had ever seen. And they had once watched a TV special about giant replica food used as tourist traps.

The slice was thin, obviously the child's size had been taken into consideration, but it was still longer than their whole body. They could have easily made a couple of snow angels on the plate it sat on.

It must have been left by Toriel. It was amazing that such a giant being could move so silently; Frisk didn't recall waking up at all! They examined the food. It was definitely fresh, but they couldn't quite tell what kind of pie it was.

Well, there was one way to find out.

Frisk stuffed their face with pie, literally. They didn't have any utensils so they just took bites right off of the end. They used their hands to pull off chunks once the slice started getting thicker. By the time they were done, there was sticky sugar residue all over their face and halfway up their forearms. They couldn't have been more content though.

There was still a good amount of pie left on the plate. Frisk didn't think they could handle one more bite though. Unsure of what to do next, they decided to go out in search of Toriel. They felt a little bad just leaving the partial piece of pie sitting out, but there wasn't much they could do about moving it.

Frisk opened their door and poked their head out, looking back and forth. There wasn't any sign of life in the hallway. They'd have to look further; they'd start with Toriel's room.

Frisk was actually hesitant to step out into the hallway. This place had seemed big enough when they were with Toriel, being held up to her height. Now that Frisk was on the ground, the enormity of everything struck them once again. As they stepped out their feet tapped against the hardwood floor, but the spacious hallway swallowed up the sound. They stepped onto the rug at the soonest opportunity.

To distract themselves from these unsettling, feelings they thought back to the pie. They still couldn't pinpoint the flavor. There had been cinnamon, that taste was hard to mistake. They weren't sure about the other flavor though. Still, Frisk concluded that the pie was one of the best they'd ever had. They hadn't tasted many pies, but it was still high praise in their book.

Toriel wasn't in her room. A single peak through the human sized door was enough to confirm this. They'd have to explore the rest of the house then.

Going into an unfamiliar area felt intrusive, and increased the unease they were already feeling. So they moved slowly once they got past their own room. They walked through what seemed to be an entryway, and noticed a book case and set of stairs on their right. Frisk decided to go down those as a last resort, since it would be hard to get back up on their own. It was in the next room, a mix between a living room and dining room, where they finally found who they were looking for.

Toriel sat in a plush armchair beside a lit fireplace. She hadn't noticed Frisk come in though; her attention was focused on the book sitting on her lap. Frisk walked over to the chair, staying on the side furthest from the fire. Still unnoticed, they pondered how best to get her attention. Straight forward was probably the best way to go.

"Hello." they called up, forcing their quiet voice to go up in volume. The goat woman stiffened, then carefully shifted her position to look over the side of the chair. It creaked as she did so.

"Up already I see." she said, eyes sparkling from above her bifocals. "Would you like to come up?"

Frisk was quite happy to have found company again. They held there arms up, reaching towards Toriel with open palms. She chuckled.

"I will take that as a 'yes'." She lowered her hand to the ground next to Frisk, and the child stepped carefully onto her palm. She brought them up to her level, and suddenly snorted a laugh.

"I am glad to see you enjoyed the pie so much." Now that the child was closer, Toriel could see the gooey remains of the pie on their face and arms. To demonstrate this, Frisk placed both of their hands on their cheeks and then slowly pulled them away. The skin stuck to their fingers, stretching their face out as their hands lifted away. Toriel went into a small fit of giggles at the sight.

"Well, let's get that taken care of first." Toriel closed her book and slid it onto the arm of the chair before getting up. She carried Frisk into the next room, which turned out to be the kitchen. She placed them on the counter top and started wetting a cloth in the sink.

"I admit I was a bit worried about the pie. I didn't get a chance to ask if you preferred butterscotch or cinnamon, and wasn't sure which to make. So I combined the two!"

Oh, butterscotch! That explained the unknown taste; Frisk had never tried butterscotch before. Toriel turned off the faucet and placed the damp cloth in front of Frisk. They picked up the corner, humming in pleasure at the warmth. Toriel continued speaking as they rubbed at their face and arms.

"Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug hunting spot."

Frisk shivered subtly at the thought of giant bugs.

"I've also prepared a curriculum for your education."

Frisk stopped washing and looked up at her, startled. Toriel was looking to the side wistfully and didn't notice.

"This may come as a surprise to you...but I have always wanted to be a teacher." she paused thoughtfully. "...actually perhaps that isn't very surprising. STILL." she finally looked back to Frisk with a smile. "I am glad to have you living here."

She noticed the look on the child's face, and her smile faltered.

"What is it my child? Is something wrong?"

"You..." the child's voice was soft, and Toriel leaned in close to hear better. "you want me to stay with you? For always?" Now it was Toriel's turn to look surprised.

"Well, of course I do. This IS your home now."

Frisk...they didn't know how to feel about this. They did like Toriel a lot, but things were happening very quickly. This place could be scary...but Toriel had shown them it could also be wondrous. Frisk had spent years in a home where nothing truly changed, things just shifted once in a while. Perhaps they were due for some rapid change. Even if they left, tried to find a way back, what would they be going back to? Just the same thing that had caused them to leave in the first place.

Toriel had welcomed them fully and unquestioningly. It seemed like she really wanted to take care of Frisk. That couldn't be such a bad thing, right?

Frisk gave Toriel a small, hopeful smile.

"Okay."

That single word made Toriel's face light up with joy.

"Wonderful! Now, when you're finished cleaning up, why don't we go back to the den and do some reading? I just started a fascinating book, it's called 72 Uses for Snails." Frisk nodded, and quickly finished their task. Once they were done, Toriel put the cloth away and carried them back to the chair in the den. Once she sat down, she lifted Frisk up to her right shoulder.

"I'll need my hands for the book my child." Frisk slid off her furry palm and onto the soft fabric covering her shoulder. While Toriel opened up the book, Frisk situated themselves in the crook between the goat woman's neck and shoulder.

"My child, can you see the words well enough from there?"

Frisk made a noise of confirmation, and rested their head against Toriel's neck. The child could feel the giants steady pulse through the thick, downy fur.

"Alright...oh! Did you know, that snails sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? How very interesting!"

It was interesting, if a bit disgusting.

"And did you also know, that snails make terrible shoe laces?"

Frisk actually tried to picture that one, and couldn't help but giggle at the image they got. They felt themselves relax fully against their caretaker's neck.

"Oh! I never knew this before! Did you know that..."

It was curious how easily they settled into a life together.

Each morning Toriel would gently nudge them awake and give Frisk a chance to get dressed. Once they were done she would carry them to the den and set them on the dining table' where they would eat breakfast together.

Once breakfast had been cleaned up, Toriel would spend the morning teaching them. During the first days she gave them tests to find out what level they were at in different subjects. Once that was established the real lessons began, and Frisk had never had so much fun learning. Toriel had a way of explaining things that made really complex subjects understandable, and if they did get frustrated she'd break the tension with a silly joke. She also interspersed interesting factoids throughout the lessons, which helped keep Frisk interested.

Once lessons were done they would break for lunch. Sometimes Frisk was able to help prepare the meal by running around the counter top and grabbing various ingredients that Toriel requested. She insisted Frisk stay in the den whenever a dish required the use of fire magic though.

After lunch Toriel would go out to patrol the ruins, leaving Frisk to do homework in their room. When Toriel returned Frisk would eagerly show off their finished work, as well as drawings they had done. It was hard to use crayons that were nearly as big as they were, but they enjoyed the challenge; along with the massive canvas of Toriel sized sheet paper. Toriel stuck every finished drawing onto the refrigerator.

After supper they would spend the evening together. Usually they would read, with Toriel in her chair and Frisk curled up on her shoulder or chest. Sometimes they played games instead. Hide and seek was an easy one for both of them to do. It was hard for Frisk to win, as Toriel seemed to know every potential hiding place in each room. Sometimes they got clever and found a hiding place Toriel didn't know about. They stopped doing that after a few times, since Toriel became very distressed when she couldn't find them.

When bedtime came, Toriel would bring out her journal of puns. Yes, their caretaker had a journal just for puns. She would always read a few of them to Frisk before bed, like a silly version of a bedtime story. The jokes would have the child alternating between giggling and groaning. Once she was done Toriel would kiss the top of their head and wish them good night.

Sometimes, instead of leaving them for the afternoon, Toriel would bring Frisk along on her patrol through the Ruins. The woman had breast pockets sown into most of her dresses, and would use them to safely carry the child as she did puzzles and interacted with the various monsters that lived there. These afternoons often ended up becoming extended lessons.

Toriel taught them what to do if they ever ended up in another FIGHT like they did with Flowey. She took them to a training dummy that was close to the place they'd fallen, and encouraged them to practice having conversations with it. She said this was a doubly effective technique, as the talking could convince the monster not to fight them and it would buy time for Toriel herself to come help. Frisk was all for finding ways to make other monsters not want to hurt them.

They didn't have to worry about that too much in the Ruins though. During the patrols, Toriel introduced them to lots of other monsters, and it soon became well known that the little human was with Toriel.

Not everything was perfect of course. Frisk was adapting, but still had trouble navigating in a world that wasn't their scale. It sometimes irked them that they had to ask for help with tasks they could have easily done on their own before.

There was also Toriel's strange behavior. Normally the goat woman was happy to explain things to Frisk, but sometimes they would ask a question and she would become agitated and quickly change the subject. It happened when they asked about an old dusty photo frame they found, and where the stairs in the house went. Toriel had expressly forbidden them to go down them.

During one dinner Frisk remembered to ask Toriel about the box with lots of different shoes. The same thing happened; Toriel stalled and looked upset.

"There were other humans who fell into the underground before you, my child. But they are gone now."

She refused to elaborate on the subject, instead asking Frisk about their school work.

During one patrol Toriel had to stop and fix a puzzle that wasn't working. Since it could take a while, Frisk was let out of her pocket so they could stretch their legs. Toriel's only request was for them not to leave the room.

So they explored, and they found...'something' curled up in the corner of the room. It looked like fine mist wrapped up with thick cobwebs. The mass was mostly still, but the very edge of it was moving like a slowly uncurling snake. Frisk had never seen anything quite like it, but that was becoming a common occurrence for them.

Could this be another kind of monster? It was moving after all.

"Hello?" They called out. After a moment the mass rolled over, and Frisk saw the black outline of large oval eyes and a little frowning mouth.

"Oh...were you talking to me?" the monster asked in a warbling voice. "Am I in your way? I'm sorry..."

Before Frisk could contradict the monster's assumption their soul appeared in front of them. They were alarmed, but took a deep breath to calm themselves. They just had to remember what Toriel had taught them: stay calm, find a way to placate them, buy time.

"It's okay, you weren't in the way. I just wanted to say hi." Frisk tried to assure the ghostly figure. It didn't seem to work though, as large white tears started falling from the monster's eyes. The human was quick to dodge them, as they were fully aware that such things could hurt them.

With their small size, dodging the large drops turned out to be rather easy. Soon they were making a game out of it, laughing as they clutched their soul and wove between the drops. This gave the ghost pause, causing the tears to stop falling and Frisk to look up at the ghost.

"Are you...having fun with me?" The monster sounded doubtful. Frisk nodded eagerly, and then blew the ghost a kiss. The ghost's eyes shimmered.

"Really...? Then, I want to show you something." The ghost's eyes teared up again, and Frisk got ready for another round. Gravity seemed to have taken a small vacation though, as the tears floated up instead of falling down. The tears started gathering around the ghost's head and, much to Frisk's delight, formed into a top hat.

"I'm Nastablook...so I call this 'dapperblook'. Do you like it...?" Frisk clapped their hands together once, giving the ghost a big smile. Then they did their best imitation of a curtsy.

"oh no..." The ghost's eyes were shimmering once again. "I usually come to the Ruins because there's nobody around...but today I met somebody nice..." That made Frisk blush a little. "oh...I'm rambling again aren't I? I'm sorry...I'll leave now..."

With that the ghost faded away, as did Frisk's red soul. Despite the apology at the end, Frisk felt the meeting had gone well. What Nastablook had said made them think though. Were there other places in the Underground besides the Ruins? Honestly, Frisk had assumed there wasn't. They had been over every inch of the Ruins with Toriel and had never seen a way to exit them, save for the very hole they had fallen down. The way the ghost had talked suggested there was places besides the Ruins though. If that was true, how did you get out of the Ruins?

After a minute of thought, Frisk had the sinking feeling that they might already know.

"My child, I'm finished."

Frisk jumped and whirled around, finding Toriel kneeling behind them. She frowned.

"Are you alright my child?"

"I'm okay." They said with a smile. "I made a new friend." A look of surprise came over Toriel, but she quickly replaced it with a warm smile.

"That's wonderful my child. You can tell me all about it on the way home."

With her face so high above them, Frisk missed the way Toriel looked at the now empty corner with worry and suspicion.

It was almost dinner time now; Toriel was still preparing the food. Normally Frisk would help with that, but today they had claimed fatigue. They needed time to think about whether or not they should try to get information out of Toriel.

Meal prep didn't require any fire this time around, so Frisk was still sticking with their caretaker. In fact, they were on top of them. Frisk was laying on their stomach on top of Toriel's head, right between her horns, watching everything the goat woman did.

Would it make any difference to bring their questions to Toriel? This seemed like the kind of thing Toriel would avoid talking about, and Frisk also didn't want to get into trouble. Toriel had never done anything cruel to them, but with how tense such questions made their caretaker...they weren't sure they wanted to push it.

But the curiosity was eating away at them. When Toriel had said the other humans were gone, Frisk had assumed they were dead. Was that true, or had they simply left the Ruins and gone to wherever Nastablook lived? Or could it be both?

Meeting and befriending the sad ghost had been thrilling. The idea that Frisk could actually go visit the ghost, rather than just waiting to run into the monster again, it filled Frisk with determination.

When dinner was done and the pair were settled at the table, Frisk decided to go for it.

"Toriel?"

"Yes, my child?"

"Do the stairs in the house lead outside the Ruins?"

Toriel immediately stilled. She put down her utensils, and clasped her hands together. Frisk once again felt pinned by her eyes.

"Why do you ask?" She said in a deceptively calm voice.

"Nastablook said he lived somewhere else, I just thought it would be nice to visit him sometime. And that's the only place I haven't been-"

"No." The word was said with so much authority that Frisk instantly fell silent. "They do lead to an exit, but you must never go down there my child."

"Why?"

Toriel was quiet for several long moments. Then she placed her hands flat on either side of Frisk, and spoke in a dark, serious tone.

"The rest of the Underground is very different from the Ruins. Here, the monsters are loyal to me. They respect me, and will not harm you. But the those outside of the Ruins, they are ruled by a terrible monster, King Asgore."

"The monsters have a king?" They asked, and Toriel's face darkened.

"Yes, they do. He is a large monster, taller and broader than myself. His fur is so thick it acts as another set of armor. His horns curl all the way around his head, and he wields a blood red trident."

Frisk was staring up at Toriel with rapt attention. They thought about the large fork the woman had held moments ago. Even that could have skewered them. The thought of a monster bigger than Toriel using a weapon like that suited to his size, it sent a shiver down Frisk's spine. Toriel noticed.

"You are right to be afraid, little one. For King Asgore has decreed that all humans who fall into the Underground are to be killed, and their souls harvested."

"H-harvested?"

"Yes, your soul would be ripped from you before it had a chance to pass on. That is Asgore's mission, and the monsters outside of the Ruins are loyal to him. If you are spotted by them, they **will** follow through with his orders."

Toriel suddenly stood up. Keeping her hands planted on either side of the child, she loomed over them.

"They will **kill you** , if they get the chance. You must promise me, my child, that you will never allow them that chance. Promise me, that you will never go down those stairs. Will you do this, little one?"

Frisk stared up at Toriel with wide eyes, and a slight tremble to their hands. They had never known Toriel to lie to them.

"I promise."

* * *

 **A.N.**

The one in which Toriel is totally willing to turn Asgore into the boogeyman in order to keep Frisk safe.

I know there's a lot of online hate for both Toriel and Asgore, so let me clarify my views. I don't believe either of them are truly bad people. They both went through a terrible loss and ended up in a very sad, complex situation. I can understand why both of them did what they did.

Toriel's speech here is not to convey any hate on my part towards Asgore. Toriel herself is only telling the story this way in an effort to keep Frisk from venturing outside. She has lost too many children already, and she doesn't plan to lose another, to Asgore or anyone else.

Thank you all so much for reading. Your reviews are always the highlight of my day. :D


	6. A broken promise

**A.N.**

When I was writing this chapter, I for some reason thought that Woshua was a monster you could meet in the Ruins. I got part way through the chapter before I remembered that you don't meet him until Waterfall. For the sake of this AU we will say that there is a Woshua that lives in the Ruins. Woshua does seek to wash the whole world after all, so they'd want to try and spruce up the Ruins too right?

* * *

Frisk never intended to break their promise to Toriel. A promise made to someone you loved and cared about was very important after all. Life had a way of twisting plans around though, for better or worse.

It had started out as a perfectly normal day. Frisk had been left in the house to work on homework while Toriel did her patrol. The human was sitting in their room with their back to the outside of the wooden screen, staring down at the large sheet of monster history questions that lay before them. It was one of their weakest subjects, not because Frisk disliked history, but because they'd had to start from scratch.

Very little information about monsters was available on the surface. Like most humans, Frisk had believed monsters to be the stuff of myths and legends before falling into Mount Ebott. Despite it being the place that all monsters were held, monsters were not even acknowledged as the reason people avoided the mountain. Because of this, Toriel had started them at the origins of monster kind and began working toward the war that sent them Underground. Frisk did enjoy the subject; it helped them figure out which myths were true, which were false, and which had a bit of both. Still, it was hard to understand an entire race's history when one had so little base knowledge.

That's what had Frisk frowning down at the paper and tapping their fingers against a pencil half as big as they were. They were beginning to think that unimaginative naming was a tradition for monsters, because several of these names were pretty similar...

Maybe some research material would help. The human recalled seeing some history books on the shelf near the staircase, maybe those would work. There were some in the den as well, which Toriel tended to use more often, but they were kept too high for Frisk to safely reach. The ones by the stairs were right against the floor though.

With this goal in mind, Frisk set their pencil to the side and headed for the door. They made a noise of displeasure when their hand stuck to the doorknob a bit. They hadn't gotten a chance to clean up after lunch. Toriel would normally see to that, but just as the pair finished their meal a small group of whimsuns had appeared outside the front door. They sounded very distressed, so Toriel went out to meet them. She came back in less than a minute, saying she had to leave early. She quickly brought them and their assignment to their room, promising to be back in time for dinner. Then she was gone.

Frisk didn't resent her for the sudden departure. It must have been something serious for a bunch of whimsuns to gather enough courage to talk to Toriel, and Frisk was used to being on their own. They did worry though, and wished they knew what was going on. Hopefully the goat woman would explain it when she returned.

Frisk reached the small shelf by the stairs and carefully examined the titles. The most promising one was at the left end of the shelf. Now that the selection was made the real challenge came, getting the book off the shelf.

The child tried to grab the book and pull at it. The books weren't tightly packed, so they didn't have to worry about it being too wedged in to move. Unfortunately, the book was bound in a way that didn't offer their tiny hands any good way to grip it; Frisk would have to think outside the box a little bit. They went around to the back of the shelf, and were pleased to find that it did not sit flush against the wall. The shelf also had an open back, which meant Frisk had access to the other side of the books. They hopped up into the back of the shelf, causing dust to swirl around them. More dust was disturbed as they marched over to the book they wanted. Placing their shoulder against the little wall of pages, Frisk gave the book a shove. It moved, and the child smiled. It was like playing a giant game of Jenga!

After a good amount of pushing and shoving the book was almost off the shelf. Nervous about what would happen once the other books lost it's support, Frisk got off the shelf and went around to it's exposed side. They stood with their back to the stairs, and started pushing again. Soon, the book fell away from them and off the shelf. It conveniently landed open onto the table of contents.

Well, it was nice that some part of this endeavor turned out to be easy.

Frisk placed their hands onto the page, leaning far over it to look over the available subjects. They stood up once they decided on a chapter, and grimaced at the smudges their hands left on the white paper. They looked down at themselves, realizing for the first time how dirty they'd gotten from rummaging around the shelf. The dust clung to their skin and mixed with the food residue still on them.

Oh well. It was annoying, but a little dirt never hurt anyone.

Frisk suddenly heard something shuffling to their right. They turned and saw a giant turtle with a water tank for a shell. Now, this wasn't the first time Frisk had seen Woshua; they had become acquainted with all the monsters that lived in the Ruins. Just because the monster wasn't a stranger didn't mean Frisk wasn't alarmed to randomly find them in the house though.

They were also fairly confused. A Froggit had once told them that the monsters in the Ruins were intimidated by Toriel, and were hesitant to approach her unless it was important. Frisk knew the caution wasn't necessary, but it did make Woshua's appearance in the house very strange. Still, they would give him the benefit of the doubt.

The human smiled and waved at Woshua. The turtle narrowed his eyes, and looked them up and down. Frisk's smile faltered, and they lowered their hand. _'Let's try again.'_

"H-hello. Are you looking for Toriel?" they asked.

Woshua continued to eye them.

"Um..."

"Spring cleaning."

"What?"

"Scrub a dub dub. Spring cleaning time."

Was it spring now? Frisk had lost track of time after being down here for so long.

"Oh! Well, I'm sure M- Toriel, will appreciate the help when-!"

A torrent of water suddenly blasted Frisk. The force of it was enough to push them back several steps, and they were drenched in an instant. When the water subsided the tiny child was left hacking and spluttering, and with a red heart floating before them.

"W-what *cough* was-"

"Yuck! Still dirty."

Frisk was hit by another blast. They were gasping for breath and their HP had been lowered, but Woshua still didn't look satisfied.

They had to run. The monster wouldn't listen, and Frisk already felt as though they had been drowned twice. The problem was that Woshua stood between them and the rest of the house, and there was no way Frisk could make it past them when those water spouts kept pushing them back.

That meant there was only one place left to run.

Frisk forced themselves up and sprinted for the stairs. The water on the floor made them slip and roll. They fell over the edge of the first step, landing with a groan. That would probably leave a bruise, but they didn't have time to dwell on it. Frisk got up and started clambering down the over-sized steps.

"Wosh u face!"

This would be okay, they reasoned. They didn't have to leave the Ruins completely, they just had to get far enough away from the monster that it would decide to go do something else. Turtles were slow; they could get away from one, even a giant one, right?

"Wosh u hand!"

Apparently not, because Frisk could already hear Woshua thumping his way down the stairs. The sound was too frequent for comfort. The human went as fast as they could, which made them slip and fall down several of the steps. Still, they managed to keep ahead of Woshua and reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Wosh u leg!"

Their side was burning and their breathing was ragged. They forced themselves to run down the wide hallway anyway, because they could hear the monster behind them.

"Wosh u SOUL!"

They heard rushing water and swerved. The blast missed them.

They turned with the hallway, and saw a door up ahead. They would run out of space to run soon, unless they could find some way to get past it. Frisk pushed themselves to go faster, and they reached the door with a little time to spare. They ran their hands down the middle crack, finding it tightly sealed. They knelt down a looked at the bottom. Yes! There was a little bit of space between the floor and the bottom of the door. Without stopping to think, Frisk wedged themselves under the door and started wriggling through.

Woshua's footsteps were approaching. They struggled harder. They just managed to pop through when the sound of rushing water reached them. They felt a small splash as some water made it under the door, but that was it. The red heart finally vanished, which meant they'd successfully escaped from Woshua. They didn't feel any relief though.

All they felt was COLD.

Woshua must have gotten the date wrong because it clearly wasn't spring down here, it was the dead of winter. A long white trail extended from the door they'd crawled under. Snow heavy bushes stood on each side of them, and skeletal trees surrounded the trail. Thankfully, there wasn't any wind, but the freezing air was enough to remind them that their clothes weren't suited for winter weather. Not to mention the fact that they were still very wet.

With all the running Frisk had done they weren't dripping from their hair or clothes anymore. Their shoes still made squelching sounds though, and their hair and clothes clung to them like a second skin. Frisk had gone out into cold weather with a wet head before, but this was a hundred times worse than that. The cold seeped into every pore. They'd only been out here for a minute and Frisk was already shivering.

Frisk pressed themselves to the crack of the door, both to try and hear what was happening behind it and to shield part of their body from the biting air. Frisk's stomach dropped when they heard 'scrub a dub dubs, scrub a sub subs!' being sung. Woshua had decided to clean the hallway before going back to the house.

It would be okay, Frisk told themselves. Woshua was so efficient that a hallway wouldn't take them too long to clean, especially an empty one. They just had to wait until he started cleaning around that corner they took, then they could wiggle back under the door and get warm again. They'd probably just stay there until Toriel came back home, to keep out of the turtle's way. She would no doubt be angry they went down the stairs, but hopefully she would understand when Frisk told her the whole story.

So there they stayed, curled up and shivering against the door, waiting for Woshua's voice to become distant. They really didn't know what else to do with themselves in the mean time. Winter's could get cold and snowy where Frisk lived, but for the most part they were fairly mild. They'd never had to think about winter survival before. Should they get up and walk around, or would that make them lose heat faster? Should they take off the wet clothes, or would that just leave them more exposed? They weren't sure, and the clawing cold was making it hard to reason an answer out.

They weren't sure how long they stayed like that. The harsh sting of the cold made it seem like ages, but it could have been as little as ten minutes or longer than an hour. A part of them wanted to get up and move, just for something else to do, but they felt so very tired.

SNAP

Frisk jolted and gasped. Everything on this side of the door had been so deathly quiet that the unexpected sound felt like gunshot going off. The combination of fear and cold made their breathing short and shallow. Toriel's warnings came flooding back to them, stories of monsters that would hunt and capture them and rip their soul from their body.

Maybe they were better off with Woshua.

Frisk uncurled themselves, their stiff muscles rebelling against the sudden demand to move. They tried to stand, but quickly went down to their knees in a rush of dizziness. They stayed like that, it would be easier to find the gap under the door this way. They crawled to the section they'd come through, and could practically feel their hands becoming freezer burnt. Still, they found the place and flattened themselves to get through.

But they didn't fit anymore.

Frisk tried to squeeze themselves under the door, but could only get an arm or a leg now. What was going on? The child pulled themselves out and examined the gap; there was a ridge of ice that hadn't been there when they first crawled under. How had that...Woshua. When he tried to get Frisk one last time they'd felt some of it splash under the door. It must have pooled and frozen.

They could feel their heart in their ears now. Frisk stumbled along the bottom of the door, looking for some way back in. They found nothing.

The human stood back, staring at the door. They were trapped out here. They would have to wait for Toriel to come back and notice they were missing (and she would notice). They'd have to find some way to keep from freezing until then. They- they'd have to...

Were those footsteps?

Something was rhythmically crunching the snow behind them, and it was growing steadily louder. Frisk's brain seemed to shut off right then, unable to focus on anything but the approaching sound. They shivered and shook and their blood pounded in their ears and their mind felt so hazy that they couldn't do anything but stand there.

Finally the noises stopped...directly behind them. A dark shadow fell all around them, and Frisk let out a little whine of fear.

" **Human**." an ominous voice echoed from above them. " **Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and say hello.** " **  
**

 _'Stay calm, find a way to placate them, buy time.'_ Frisk chanted in their head. The monster wanted a greeting, so they would try to give one. They turned around, or tried to at least. Their muscles weren't responding like they should, and they tripped over their own feet. The end result was that they did get turned around, but they also fell back into the snow. They landed with a small 'poof'.

The new position offered Frisk a good view of the monster. Frisk thought they were getting used to the sight of monsters, since they interacted with the ones in the Ruins on a fairly regular basis. They had been wrong, because they weren't prepared for the sight of a clothed skeleton looming over them. They also weren't prepared for what he did next.

He chuckled.

"heh, guess that prank _fell a little short_ , huh?" The threatening tone had left his voice. He looked down at them with a goofy grin and flashlight eyes.

Frisk was still trying to process the sudden change of atmosphere. He didn't sound angry...that was good. But weren't they supposed to do one more thing? Turn around and...say hello?

"come on kid, don't give me the _cold shoulder_. it wasn't that bad of a joke."

Frisk let out a breathy laugh, and the skeleton's grin seemed to grow wider.

"ha, gotcha to laugh. at least, i think i did. kinda hard to tell from up here, let's see if we can fix that."

The mass of bones began shifting and lowering, and Frisk's heart started thundering again.

"H-he-hello." It was the only thing they could think to do. He said he wanted a greeting after all. They couldn't get out any more than that though. Still, the skeleton paused and the light of his eyes seemed to brighten.

"hello to you too kid." He started moving again. A few moments later and he was settled before them, laying on his 'stomach' with his skull propped up on crossed arms. The blue coat he wore bunched up, making the white fluffy lining frame his head like a halo.

"there, this should make things easier. so, you're a human right?"

Frisk wasn't sure they should tell him. He would want some kind of answer though, and they got the feeling that lying to this monster would be a bad idea. Besides, he had already called them a human before.

They shakily nodded. The skeleton looked like was going to say something, but stopped. The light of his eyes flicked up and down, looking them over.

"geez kid, you're _soaked to the bone_. how did that happen? and how long have you been out here?"

Frisk tried to answer, they really did. But it was getting harder and harder to think clearly, and their mouth seemed to have forgotten how to make proper words. When they tried to speak, they just created a mishmash of consonant sounds.

"hey, hey, take it easy." the skeleton said, finally taking pity on the human. "for now, let's just go with 'it's a long story' and 'a while'. you can fill in the details after I get you somewhere warm okay?"

The skeleton lifted his skull up and uncrossed his arms. Bone hands started to reach for them, and Frisk instinctively tried to back up. All they really managed was flailing around in the snow.

"i'm not gonna hurt you kid. not even gonna capture you, officially i mean, that's not really my thing. i'm just gonna get you somewhere safe."

A bone palm pressed against their back, and suddenly it didn't matter. It didn't matter if they believed his words, it didn't matter if all of Toriel's stories were true, it didn't matter that they should be scared out of their minds right now.

Because that palm was **WARM**.

Frisk turned around, throwing their arms around the base of two fingers and pressing into the palm as much as they could.

They were still aware of things that were happening around them: a slight vibration going through the bones they clutched, words being said, movement. All of it took a backseat to soaking in as much warmth as they could.

The child suddenly found themselves enveloped in something white and fluffy. It made them think of Toriel. Memories of their caretaker made them feel safe, and their tense muscles began to relax. They knew she wasn't really there, that in actuality they were being taken somewhere by a stranger. The skeleton hadn't hurt them though; he tried to make them laugh. If it was all just a ploy to make them compliant...

They could worry about it later.

* * *

 **A.N.**

We're also going to say that the door Toriel fights you in front of leads directly onto the trail where you meet Sans, instead of that place you meet Flowey a second time.

I probably failed at physics with how quickly water freezes too. Oh well.

And if anyone thinks that Woshua wouldn't act this crazy, I will refer you to this tweet by Toby Fox.

/fwugradiation/status/686535328958705664

Here, have some Tiny Frisk sketches that yukidoesartisticstuff made and posted on tumblr. The last one in the set helped inspire this chapter.

post/136347292948/the-tinyfriskau-by-rocko-newjeans-inspired?is_related_post=1


	7. Papyrus and Puzzles

**A.N.**

Behold! The longest chapter I've written for this story so far!

* * *

It was a little early for him to visit the door in the woods. Usually Sans met with his fellow punster in the later afternoon or early evening, but it seemed like that time frame wasn't so good for her anymore. When the tradition first started the woman's presence at the door had been almost as regular as Papyrus's demands to update his puzzles. Lately though, her appearances were a bit erratic, and when she did show she seemed distracted. Maybe an earlier meeting time would work out better for her. Sans didn't want to admit it, but he was actually kind of worried about the voice behind the door. He hoped she didn't have another promise in mind for him.

He wasn't in any hurry so he decided to walk back to the door rather than take a shortcut. On his way there, he discovered a large branch on the path. He chuckled, imagining the speech Papyrus would give about safety and courtesy if he came across the same thing. With a flash of magic, Sans broke the thick branch into pieces. It would be a hassle to keep stepping over it after all.

When the door finally came into his sights, he realized something was different. There was movement in front of the door, close to the ground, and going back and forth. A curious animal perhaps? He had to get several steps closer before realization hit him.

This wasn't quite what he had expected. After making that promise to the lady behind the door he'd done some research into what he was supposed to be protecting. He knew a fair bit about souls and such, but he'd never had cause to look into things like physical appearance. Information on humans wasn't exactly common, but some sources had survived the monster's exile. After finding some sketches he had an idea of what they looked like: basic bipedal form, facial features similar to a skeleton, hair sprouting from the head, yadda yadda. Essentially, humans were a less fishy version of Undyne.

There had been nothing in the texts about humans being so _small_ though. The little figure by the door couldn't have been more than a few inches tall, and if that was the norm for humans it was no wonder the lady had been so worried about them.

So much for the whoopee cushion joke.

He continued to approach, and noticed that the little human was staring at the door. Were they already having regrets about leaving? That certainly wouldn't do them any good out here. Still, it gave him an idea for a prank.

The human stood stock still as he walked up behind them. When he was close enough to cast a shadow over the human, he greeted them with his most threatening voice.

Humans must startle easily, because this one actually whirled around and fell down. He hadn't expected a reaction quite that extreme, but it did allow him his first good look at the human.

Dang...they looked so young. They stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes, actually making him feel a tad guilty. Well, it was nothing a little humor couldn't fix.

They didn't go for the first pun, but the second got him a little huffy laugh. At least he assumed that's what the noise was. It occurred to him that standing over them like this might be making the puns less effective than usual. It was a strange thought, he couldn't remember the last time anyone found his height even remotely intimidating.

It was when he lowered himself to the ground and got a close up view of the kid that he actually started to worry. The last time he'd seen someone so drenched was when the innkeeper's son had fallen into the river and Dogaressa dived in to rescue him. There had been a whirlwind of monsters trying to get them warm and dry afterward. If water and cold were that bad for animal-like monsters, he could only assume that it wasn't too great for fleshy humans either.

He also assumed that allowing the kid to freeze to death would not count as protecting them.

He tried to get some information out of them, but the poor kid was shaking so hard they couldn't get anything out. He needed to get them out of here.

The kid tried to get away when he reached for them. He didn't blame them, they must have been through a lot to get here. What surprised him was the kid's reaction to his hands, because as soon as he touched them the kid just _melted_. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him as the human clutched his fingers and snuggled into his palm.

"heh, don't get _mushy_ on me now."

He wasn't sure if the kid actually heard him, but decided it didn't matter much. He gently scooped the unresistant child in his hands, and wondered what to do next. He didn't have any shortcuts that lead directly into the house, and he couldn't just stroll through Snowdin with the kid in his hands. Where could he keep them that was safe?

He grinned when an idea came to him. Sans grabbed a corner of his hood with his free hand and tugged it forward. Now that he could see what he was doing, he placed his occupied hand at the edge of the hood and used his magic to nudge the kid into the fluffy pouch. He didn't think it was possible, but the kid relaxed even more upon contact with the hood's white lining. Once they were situated he carefully fixed his hood so that it lay naturally on his back. After a moment of consideration, he kept his blue eye lit and ran a small current of magic through the hood. Like most types of energy, magic gave off heat as a byproduct. This way, it was like he was keeping the kid wrapped in a warm blanket.

Feeling confident in his preparations, Sans headed for Snowdin. A hop, skip, and a jump later and Sans was walking into the town shop. After Dogaressa rescued that kid he remembered the innkeeper made soup for them, so he decided to stop and get some broth. He couldn't resist going into Grillby's when he passed by it, but he got his order to go and left quickly. It wasn't likely that the kid would be discovered if he stayed for a bit, but he didn't want to risk it.

Finally, Sans walked through his front door. He knew Papyrus would be out patrolling and calibrating puzzles for a while yet, so there was little worry that the human would be discovered in here. He walked over to the couch and dropped the bag on the floor. He sat down on the left side, making sure not to lean back. His eye burned a bit brighter when he increased his magic and used it to lift the kid out of his hood and into his cupped hands. The human sat on their knees, blinking up at him dazedly. His magic faded, making his eyes go back to the usual white, and grinned down at the kid. They rubbed their hands over their eyes and blinked several times before staring up at him again, as if confirming there was nothing wrong with their eyesight.

"heh, no need to get an eye exam kid, i'm a _bone-afide_ skeleton alright."

The human giggled, and looked more at ease. Mission accomplished.

"so, you feeling better?"

The kid nodded, but still shivered. They picked at their damp shirt a bit, looking displeased.

"the wet clothes still make things kind of chilly huh? i could help with that."

The kid narrowed their eyes, and stared at him. Still after several seconds they slowly nodded. Sans eye lit up again and a blue light surrounded the human. They startled, but began to calm down when droplets of water began to separate from their clothes and hair. The kid stared at the floating drops with unmasked fascination, which made Sans feel nostalgic. That was the same kind of open, wondering expression Papyrus often wore when he was first learning how to use magic. When he'd gotten all the excess moisture he pulled his magic away from the kid and let the water coalesce into one ball. He quickly floated it over and let it fall on his pet rock; it'd been a while since he'd tended to it.

"Thank you."

He almost missed the soft voice.

"heh, no problem kid." He said, feeling a little awkward. He placed his hands on the cushion next to him, so the kid could get off. They seemed a little reluctant to leave though. Thinking back to when he first picked them up, he had a good idea why.

"i kinda need my hands for a bit kiddo. how about we compromise? you stay on the couch and i'll leave my coat here while i go make food."

The human got off of his palm without further prompting. He took that as an agreement and got up to shed his coat, revealing a plain white turtleneck underneath. He gently laid his coat next to the human before grabbing the carton of broth from the bag. He went to the kitchen, got a pot, and started heating it on the stove. While he waited for it to finish, he raided the kitchen for dishes that might actually work for his little guest. After much rummaging and a small avalanche of bones he came up with a teacup and saucer, which they owned for when Undyne visited, along with the smallest measuring spoon he could find.

By then the broth was done heating. He scooped up half a teacup and placed the 1/16 teaspoon into it before heading back out into the living room. His metaphorical stomach dropped when he didn't see the human.

"hey, you still here kid?"

The human's head popped out of coat's pocket, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He kept up his grin through it all though.

"get your _pocket-sized_ butt out here and get some food." He said with mock sternness. The kid laughed and wiggled their way out of the fabric. Sans sat down, then steadily placed the cup and saucer down next to the human. They looked delighted when they picked up the measuring spoon.

"think you can work with that?"

The kid nodded eagerly and quickly got to work sipping up the soup. Sans got his own cooling food out of the bag, and munched on it while he talked.

"so, you still having voice troubles?" he asked, and the kid shook their head. "good, that makes things easier. you got a name kid?"

"I'm Frisk." The human's voice was louder and more confident than before, which the skeleton was grateful for.

"nice to meet ya. i'm sans, sans the skeleton. so, what's kid like you doing drenched out in the snowy woods?"

"It wasn't on purpose..." Frisk grumbled.

"you didn't mean to leave?" Sans asked, surprised.

"No, I wanted to stay in the Ruins."

"then how did you get out there?"

Frisk fell silent. They stopped eating and instead leaned on their measuring spoon, fingers drumming on it nervously. Sans just sat there, eating his own food and eyeing them occasionally. He wasn't in any kind of hurry, and they seemed to be thinking pretty hard. Eventually, the kid spoke up.

"You...you already know I'm human right?" They asked hesitantly.

"yup."

"But, your not going to hurt me?"

"like I said before kid, capturing humans isn't really my thing." His ever present grin turned mischievous. "now my brother, papyrus, he's a human hunting FANATIC."

"O-oh." Frisk said, suddenly looking pale. Their eyes darted around the room. "He, uh, he's not coming over here anytime soon is he?"

"nah, he won't be back for quite a while." Sans quickly assured them. "besides, even if he was you'd be fine. papyrus likes to talk big, but he's harmless, couldn't hurt a fly."

The human didn't look convinced.

"what? you don't believe me?" He said it in a joking tone, but a part of him actually felt offended. The thought of his baby bro intentionally hurting someone, even a human, was mind boggling.

"I want to, but..."

Sans kept looking at them, challenging them to explain. The human's nervous fidgeting increased, but they continued.

"Back in the Ruins, there's this monster named Toriel. She's super nice, and takes care of me. But she said that all the monsters outside the Ruins would try to kill me and take my soul. I believed her, and promised I wouldn't leave. I tried to keep it...but I accidentally made another monster mad and he chased me under the door. I couldn't get back under afterward."

As Frisk explained, their voice shifted from anxious to regretful; and the sad tone tugged at his heartstrings. He could relate; he hated breaking promises too.

"well, she was right to warn you. a lot of monsters would try to take your soul, so you're lucky you ran into me first. i stand by my statement about papyrus though. he's not dangerous, even though he tries to be."

The kid nodded, seeming to believe him this time.

"Still, could you take me back home? I'm not sure if the monster would be gone by now, but I know a lot of good hiding places. I could just wait for Mo- Toriel to get back."

"sorry, no can do pal." Frisk looked crestfallen. "don't get me wrong, i don't have a problem with bringing you back. but for as long as i've been a sentry those doors have been locked."

"Oh..."

"your toriel sounds like a friend of mine though. we sometimes chat through that door, so we could wait till she usually comes down and get her to open them up." Truth be told, Sans was pretty relieved. If Frisk went back to the Ruins keeping his promise would be much easier. "that could take a while though."

"It's okay, I can wait. So long as you're okay with me staying."

"welllll," Sans drawled, an idea suddenly coming to him. "i would be okay with that, but you think you could do me a favor to help pass the time?"

"What kind of favor?"

"technically, i'm supposed to be working right now, and my bro should be checking on me before too long. he's been feeling kind of down lately, and it would make his day to see a real human."

"You want me to meet him?"

"meet him, solve a few of his puzzles, nothing too hard. besides, i'll keep an eye socket out for ya." He said with a wink. Frisk laughed, and finally seemed to relax.

"Yeah, I think I can do that." They look down and themselves. "I might need something warmer to wear though."

Sans hadn't thought about that. If the kid started to freeze while solving one of Papyrus's puzzles they'd be back to square one. Sans thought for a bit, finishing off the last of his food and putting the garbage into the bag at his feet. Pap would pick it up later.

Hmmm...didn't they still have some fabric left from making Papyrus's 'battle body'?

* * *

One time skip later and Frisk was sporting a poncho of thick red fabric.

Frisk was back in Sans hood, curled up and groaning. The human now realized that Sans definition of a 'shortcut' was very different from their own.

"sorry about that kid." the skeleton said sheepishly. "i don't usually do that with a passenger. you okay?"

Frisk managed to get out a noise of confirmation before they were interrupted by a loud, somewhat high pitched voice.

"SANS!"

Frisk heard rapid footsteps quickly approach them. They ignored their still rolling stomach to focus on the voices.

"sup bro?" Sans greeted casually.

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S 'SUP' BROTHER! IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES!"

Frisk listened warily at first, put off by how loud and demanding the newcomer's voice was. As the conversation continued though, Frisk actually had to hold themselves back from laughing. Papyrus was funny when he got riled up, and Sans seemed to know all of his buttons. They could understand Sans comments about Papyrus a little better now. His words practically oozed vanity, but his voice was so very earnest and hopeful. They imagined it would be hard to take a threat seriously if it was delivered by that voice.

Sans waited a bit after Papyrus left, but was soon heading off in the same direction.

"so, what do you think of my bro so far?"

"He sounds pretty cool." Frisk admitted.

"Yeah, he really is." Sans agreed fondly. For some reason, that increased Frisk's budding affection for Sans and his unseen brother.

After walking for a bit, Sans stopped. A bone hand reached into the hood, and Frisk crawled over to it. They braced themselves, and were lifted out of the hood. They looked around at the snowy landscape, but didn't see anyone else.

"i got a plan for how to do this okay? i'm gonna set you down here."

Frisk smiled and nodded, appreciating the warning. Sans lowered them down to the ground, and they found themselves standing between a box and tall wooden sign.

"my bro should be up ahead, just around that bend in the path. i'm gonna go talk to him, and you follow in a minute okay?"

Frisk nodded, and did their best imitation of an army salute. It was hindered a bit by their new poncho, but Sans seemed to appreciate it none the less.

"great, see ya in a few kid."

Sans strolled off, and was soon beyond the trees and lost from sight. Not knowing what else to do, Frisk counted off sixty seconds in their head before following him. It took them longer to get around the bend, so hopefully they gave Sans enough time.

They saw the skeleton brothers immediately. They halted and stared at lanky skeleton talking with Sans; he was almost as tall as Toriel! Looking at the two of them, Frisk found themselves hesitant to approach. What if the brothers didn't notice them? The red they wore was pretty eye catching, but they both looked really involved in their conversation. The skeletons could hurt Frisk very easily if they didn't see them. Or what if Papyrus reacted worse to the sight of a human than Sans anticipated? As more bad scenarios ran through Frisk's head, they decided it would be better to try and grab the brothers' attention from a distance.

But how would they do that? Yelling wasn't really Frisk's forte, even when they were with people their own size, and just moving around here probably wouldn't be enough. A little ways ahead, Frisk spied a fairly large rock. Maybe if they climbed up on that it would make them visible enough for Sans and Papyrus to notice them.

Frisk ran up to the rock and studied it. Luckily, the worn surface provided plenty of foot and hand holds for them. Frisk's class had once taken a field trip to an Environmental Learning Center, and one of the things that they got to try was the rock wall. Frisk was now grateful for that little bit of climbing experience, as well as the fact that this rock face was at an incline rather than a straight vertical. The red poncho got under foot several times, making the human slip, but they kept going. Frisk had to sit and take a quick breather after pulling themselves up to the highest point of the rock, but it was worth it. They now had an excellent view of both brothers, and could hear the conversation more clearly.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,"

Frisk decided to spring up right then. The movement did not go unnoticed by the taller skeleton, who stopped speaking and snapped his head to the side. For one intense moment, Frisk received his complete undivided attention.

Than Papyrus sharply turned back to Sans, as if to ask if he was seeing the same thing. Sans turned to look at Frisk, a mischievous grin on his face, then quickly turned back to his brother. Papyrus turned to look at Frisk again, and then turned back. Then Sans did the same thing. Then Papyrus did it again, then Sans, then Papyrus, and each time they were getting faster. Back, forth, back, forth, Sans, Pap, Sans, Pap. Eventually they were going so fast that it looked like they were spinning in place.

Frisk just stared at them, dumbstruck. Maybe it was the great distance between them and the monsters, but the human was hard pressed to remember why they had been so scared of these two.

Finally, the spinning stopped and both brothers were staring at the little human. Then they turned around to talk. Not that it did much good, with how loud Papyrus was.

"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT A HUMAN!?"

They turned back, and Sans looked them up and down before turning to his brother.

"uhhh, actually, i think that's a rock."

"OH." Papyrus sounded disappointed.

Outwardly, Frisk huffed and glared at Sans. Inwardly, some vulnerable part of them squirmed and shied away from what Sans had just implied.

"hey, what's that on top of the rock?" his voice was barely covering his laughter. Papyrus looked back, and got excited all over again. Frisk breathed a sigh of relief. Sans had just been joking.

"OH MY GOD! THAT IS A HUMAN? I NEVER REALIZED THEY WERE SO SMALL." The taller skeleton looked contemplative. "HMMM...SOME OF MY PUZZLES MAY NEED ADJUSTING. BUT THAT CAN BE DEALT WITH LATER!" He said, brightening once again. "AHEM! HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA. BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL CAPTURE YOU AND YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN...I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." he admitted.

Frisk had a pretty good idea though.

"IN ANY CASE, CONTINUE ONLY IF YOU DARE!" With that he ran off laughing. Sans watched him go, then strolled over to Frisk.

"well, i think that went well." He said with a bright smile. Frisk looked back at him uncertainly.

"Are you sure this will be okay? He seems pretty set on taking me to the capital..." _'where Asgore lives.'_ They finished in their head. Sans didn't seem at all concerned though.

"don't sweat it kid. pap has told me his exact plans for catching a human so many times that i know his whole routine like the back of my own carpals. i'm keep an eye socket out for ya, remember? i'll make sure things don't go too far." He gave Frisk a playful wink. "in fact, why don't i _give you a lift_ to the next puzzle? it's only a _short_ distance, but it could take you a while with those tiny legs."

"I'm not short!" Frisk barked defiantly. Sans, somehow, raised an eyebrow. His bone hand settled next to Frisk, and they stepped on.

"oh really? what are you then?"

"I'm fun sized!"

Frisk put their hands on their hips and puffed out their chest. Sans snorted and laughed.

"sure kid," he said, bringing them up to chest level. "whatever floats your boat."

"No shortcuts this time, okay?"

"you mean _'fun'_ -cuts?"

"Sans!"

* * *

Sans delivered Frisk safely to the next puzzle, without any shortcuts. Frisk leaned back against his sternum during the journey, hoping that doing so would help hide them from any curious monsters. They didn't see many people though. They had come across another sentry station at one point, but Sans had gone behind it instead of following the path. When they reached Papyrus, Sans put them down on one side of a large square and then went to stand with his brother. Papyrus had congratulated him on taking initiative and making sure the human didn't get lost.

Now Frisk was gazing warily at the open field, which Papyrus called an electricity maze.

"SOUND LIKE FUN?" The tall skeleton asked, after he finished explaining.

Frisk shook their head back and forth rapidly. They recalled that Papyrus had designed the puzzle with a much larger body in mind, and wondered what the maze would do to them. Their confidence wasn't helped by the fact that Sans's grin looked a bit strained.

"OH, WELL, YOU ARE INTELLIGENT TO THINK SO! BECAUSE THE LEVEL OF FUN WILL BE QUITE SMALL I THINK. NOW, GO AHEAD!"

Frisk took a deep breath, calming themselves and bolstering their determination. They took three steps and-

BZZZZZZZT!

Frisk yelped and jumped back, only to realize the noise hadn't come from the maze. They looked up to see Papyrus smoking, and laughed hard. They couldn't help it, it was like something straight out of a road runner cartoon!

"SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Papyrus had recovered quickly, and was now stamping angrily at the ground.

"i think the human has to have the orb." Sans pointed out with a snicker.

"OH, RIGHT." Papyrus walked through the maze to get to the human, leaving a clear trail in the snow. "TAKE THIS PLEASE!" He placed the glass orb next to them, the topmost point was the same height as Frisk's chin.

Well, at least now they knew how to get through the maze. With that problem solved, the most difficult task was pushing the orb through the uneven snow. Frisk considered leaving the sphere behind, but figured that would count as cheating. The objects smooth round surface was both a blessing and a curse. It made it easier to push the orb through the snow, but it also caused Frisk to slip and face plant into the snow several times. This seemed to amuse Sans and distress Papyrus.

Still, Frisk eventually made it through. Papyrus congratulated them as well as threatened them with a puzzle made by Sans before rushing away. Sans offered them a ride again, which they gratefully accepted.

"hey, thanks for doing that. my brother seems like he's having fun."

Frisk felt something light and warm fill up there chest, and they relaxed into the skeleton's hand. Sans headed for the next puzzle, explaining the origins of his brother's outfit along the way.

* * *

"SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE?!"

Frisk approached the piece of paper on the ground, and studied it while the brothers argued. Huh, a word search. They had a teacher that liked to hand these out, so it didn't take long for Frisk to find several of the listed words. They didn't have a pencil, but Frisk quickly came up with a way around that. When they found a word, they would scoop up some snow and place a bit of it on each letter. They were almost through it when Papyrus's loud voice made them look up.

"HUMAN! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE! WHICH IS HARDER, THE JUMBLE OR THE CROSSWORD?"

Frisk froze. Crap, what had they been talking about? They were saved from answering when Papyrus's eyes narrowed, and he marched over to them. Frisk got up and stumbled back, surprised by his sudden approach.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TINY HUMAN?"

Frisk pointed to the word search. The skeleton crouched down and looked closer.

"YOU HAVE BEEN SOLVING THE PUZZLE? EVEN THOUGH YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO? HUMAN! I HAD NO IDEA YOU LOVED PUZZLES SO MUCH!"

They could have skipped it?

"IN THAT CASE LET US NOT WASTE TIME, ON TO THE NEXT PUZZLE!"

* * *

"Why is there a plate of spaghetti out here?"

"my bro made it, put it out there as a way to slow ya down."

"It would've worked better if he put it on the ground."

"not really, stuff is pretty frozen. besides, pap has improved a lot since he started, but he has a way to go before he starts making anything edible."

"Oh."

* * *

Frisk stood on their tip toes, trying to see the entirety of the puzzle.

"HUMAN, ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE?"

They nodded, then jumped up and down a couple times trying to demonstrate the problem.

"AH, I SEE! YOU CANNOT TELL WHERE ALL THE X'S ARE. FEAR NOT! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HELP YOU GAIN SOME PERSPECTIVE!"

Frisk squeaked when the tall skeleton snatched them up without warning and held them high. They grabbed the thumb of Papyrus's mitt to steady themselves.

"DOES THAT HELP?"

The child took a few deep breaths to slow their pounding heart, and looked up. The whole of the puzzle was now within their sights, and they began planning their route.

"SAY, HUMAN. IS THAT GARMENT YOU ARE WEARING THE SAME MATERIAL AS MY SCARF?"

Frisk looked at their sleeve, and then up at Papyrus. They nodded, and the skeleton went starry eyed.

"THEN, THAT MEANS, I'M A TRENDSETTER! I HAVE ONLY KNOWN YOU FOR A DAY AND I'M ALREADY BECOMING MORE POPULAR! THANK YOU TINY HUMAN!"

Having him yell so close to their ears was a bit painful, but it was still hard not to smile.

* * *

Frisk had never wanted a pen and paper more in their life. They desperately tried to keep all the different tile colors straight in their head, but they got mixed up anyway. So did Papyrus, when they begged him to repeat the instructions. Frisk sagged in relief when they didn't have to navigate the labyrinth of tiles. It was surprising how bad they felt when Papyrus walked away much slower than before.

* * *

They didn't feel nearly as bad anymore.

Frisk stood on the wooden plank of a rope bridge, eye twitching as their gaze flickered from one deadly implement to the next.

 _'That dog is big enough to eat me.'_ Frisk thought faintly.

They should run, they really should, but their brain seemed to be stuck in some kind of limbo. All they could do was stand there and listen as Papyrus went on about how the trap would work. Blood pounded in their ears when he declared he was going to activate it.

But nothing happened.

Frisk wished they could slap Sans when he asked his brother what the hold up was. The pair went back and forth a bit, causing the taller to declare that this puzzle (how in the world did this count as a puzzle?!) was to easy to defeat them with. The human let out a breath of air they hadn't even realized they'd been holding. Strangely, Papyrus seemed almost as relieved as they did. Maybe Sans had been right about his brother.

As the tall skeleton left the adrenaline drained from Frisk's body. Their legs suddenly felt wobbly, and they collapsed backwards onto the bridge.

"frisk?!"

Sans was suddenly crouching over them.

"you okay kid?"

Frisk lifted one arm and gave him a thumbs up before letting it fall back down. They heard him chuckle.

"been a pretty long day hasn't it? how's about we head back to the ruins and see if your toriel is back?"

Frisk nodded, and didn't struggle at all when Sans picked them up. He lifted them up to his hood, and Frisk let themselves slide in. They stayed near the edge though, poking their head out just enough to see Sans head and a bit of the landscape.

"say, can you do me one more favor kid?"

"What?"

"when toriel comes looking for you, don't mention that last puzzle okay?"

* * *

 **A.N.**

Whew, glad to have that one done! I honestly didn't expect this chapter to get so long, but it feels good to have gotten everything I wanted in there. Just don't expect this chapter length to become the norm okay?

In any case, this chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope you all had just as much fun reading it!


	8. Reunion

The walk back to the sentry station was mostly uneventful. Frisk heard a few voices call out greetings to Sans, but no one stopped him for an actual conversation. Sans also didn't avoid the sentry station he'd walked behind the first time around, though he did tell Frisk to duck down before he got to it. When he stepped in front of the window someone growled and demanded to know who was moving; Frisk assumed it was a guard. The guard seemed to calm down when they saw it was Sans, going from confrontational to annoyed. The skeleton threw out a few bone related puns and left while the guard was barking and whining about them.

So sentient dogs were a thing in the underground, that was good to know. Apparently animal based species weren't uncommon because Sans mentioned some rabbits that lived in Snowdin as he chatted. Frisk asked him if he knew where a ghost called Napstablook lived.

"sorry buddy, couldn't tell ya. name doesn't ring a bell."

Frisk slumped in disappointment.

"hey, we're here."

Frisk pulled themselves up from the hood as much as they could. It was just enough to look over Sans shoulder and see a snowy path with a wooden stand off to the side.

"well, i suppose it's a bit further for you. this is my sentry station, so once i reach it i feel like i've arrived, you know? i'll still take you the rest of the way though, so-"

The skeleton cut off suddenly. Frisk was about to question why, when they heard something in the distance. It sounded like the crunching of snow...and someone calling out 'my child'.

"Toriel!" "Lady?" Frisk and Sans spoke at the same time, one with excitement and the other with curiosity. Sans didn't have to wait long to have his curiosity sated; soon both of them could see the goat woman moving quickly but carefully down the trail.

Frisk was stunned when they first saw Toriel. The goat woman had always carried herself with a polite grace that could put nearly anyone at ease. That grace was gone now, and had been replaced with barely contained panic. Her cries were desperate, and she searched the ground frantically as she walked. It made Frisk's heart clench.

"Toriel!" They called out, desperate to reassure her. "Toriel I'm here! I'm okay!"

Toriel's head snapped up and her eyes zeroed in on the human. The next thing Frisk knew there was a grunt from Sans and they were being held by a familiar pair of furry hands.

"My child! Oh thank heavens you are safe! When I came home and found you gone I..."

When Toriel trailed off she pressed Frisk against her chest, just below her neck. Frisk gripped the white fur tightly, feeling tears coming to their eyes.

"I'm sorry! So sorry, I-I didn't mean to-"

"I know child, I know." Toriel gently nuzzled their head with her chin. Frisk breathed in deeply, catching the faint scent of spices that always seemed to cling to the goat woman. They felt as though a weight had been lifted from their shoulders, and all was right with the world once again.

"Ugh..."

 _'What was that? Oh right!'_ Frisk pushed themselves back so they could talk to Toriel properly. The goat woman hesitated, but moved her hands to allow them to do so.

"Mom, I should introduce you to Sans. He found me outside the door and took care of me."

Frisk finally turned around and saw that Sans was sprawled out on the ground, having been bowled over by Toriel in her rush to retrieve Frisk. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and met Toriel's guilt ridden expression with a wry grin.

"Truly? Oh my! I'm so sorry sir! I suppose I got a little over excited..."

"a little huh? geeze lady, you know there are easier ways to get a guy to _fall for you_ right?"

There was a brief pause, and then Toriel was snorting in laughter. Frisk laughed too, falling over in Toriel's hands and giggling.

"Well, if that voice wasn't enough proof that joke certainly is. You are my _punny_ visitor are you not?"

"yup, that's me."

"I suppose I should have guessed you were a skeleton, given your fondness of bone puns."

"eh, don't feel _'baaa'd_ about it. I wouldn't have guessed you were such a _knock out_ either."

Toriel blushed, the pink tint just visible through her fur. Sans noticed, and suddenly realized what he'd just said. Then he was blushing too, only it was a light blue instead of pink. Frisk hid their smile behind their hand.

"well, i, uh, what i meant was-" Sans stammering was cut off by a light laugh from Toriel.

"Thank you Sans, the compliment is very much appreciated."

"uh, no problem." The blue blush had become even more pronounced.

"Oh! I've been meaning to talk to you about something as well. My schedule has changed a bit since my child arrived. Would you be open to meeting later? Or perhaps earlier around lunchtime would work better."

"yeah, lunchtime sounds good. you gonna start bringing the kid along?"

"Perhaps." Toriel replied, her voice and expression becoming subdued. "For now I'd just like to get them home."

"right, 'course. see ya tomorrow then?"

"Yes, tomorrow." She turned to go, but stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Sans?"

"yeah tori?"

"Thank you, so much, for remembering."

Frisk got one more good look at Sans before their vision was blocked by Toriel's shoulder. It was enough to see that the blush, which had been starting to fade, came back in full force at Toriel's parting comment. The child giggled, and snuggled into Toriel's palm.

"Can I come with when you go to visit Sans tomorrow?" Frisk asked once they were a good ways down the trail. "We could bring lunch down to the door with us, it would be like a picnic!"

Frisk's happy exclamation was met with silence.

"Toriel?" The worry in the child's voice was clear. Toriel curled her finger over Frisk protectively.

"My child, I must ask you something. I questioned Woshua, so I know how you ended up outside the Ruins, but I still must know." The goat woman's voice was so tight it was making Frisk's anxiety rise. "My child, did any part of you want to leave the Ruins?"

"No!" Frisk shouted. Toriel looked down at them in surprise; she had never heard the child speak so loudly before.

"No Mom, I never wanted to leave or run away or anything like that. You've been so amazing! You're kind and patient and you always, always listen. No one has ever..." Frisk trailed off, briefly overwhelmed by emotion and memories.

"You...you called me Mom."

Toriel was looking down at them with wide eyes. The tiny child fidgeted and looked up at her hopefully.

"Is that okay?"

"If calling me Mom would make you happy, then I gladly accept the title."

Frisk saw moisture around the corner of their mother's eyes. Good, that meant they weren't the only one. Frisk threw their arms up and caught Toriel's muzzle in a hug. Her warm breath blew over them, matching the warmth that glowed in Frisk's chest.

As Toriel walked through the door to the Ruins, Frisk reflected that they had never felt more like they were coming home.

They remembered the last time they were at the door, and a thought occurred to them.

"Hey Mom? Do you know if Woshua is all done with his cleaning by now?"

"Yes my child, he's done. He actually left before he finished everything."

"Really? Why?"

"I reminded him that he was going to be moving today; he has relatives in Waterfall I believe. He ran off to pack up everything he needs, so you won't be seeing him around the Ruins. Ever."

Toriel's voice had an edge to it that Frisk couldn't quite identify. They decided not to dwell on it though. They focused on how relieved they were to be home with their mother, and that they wouldn't have to worry about what to do upon meeting Woshua again.

* * *

 **A.N.**

If you didn't know I was a fan of 'Soriel' before you do now. :P

Bit of a shorter chapter compared to some of my others, but I'm fairly satisfied with how it turned out. I'm just happy to finally get around to posting this, and I hope that you find it to be worth the wait. :)


	9. What's in a Name?

**A.N.**

Be warned, things get a bit dark in this chapter. If you're especially sensitive to depictions of injuries you might want to skip the part between 'She tried to do something' and "That's when Toriel's legs gave out". It happens around the middle of the chapter.

* * *

Toriel let out a deep sigh of relief when she saw the house. She had expected something bad when the group of panicked Whimsuns had pulled her away earlier that afternoon, but she had not been expecting something quite so gruesome. The retracting mechanism for one of the spike traps had malfunctioned, resulting in a very nasty accident for some unlucky Froggits. It was fortunate Toriel was so skilled in healing magic, otherwise the encounter could have ended in tragedy. As it was, everyone involved was safe and sound. Once all the injured and panicked monsters had been tended to, Toriel fixed the puzzle and then inspected all the others. Now that there was evidence that the puzzles were in need of maintenance, the former Queen wanted to get it taken care of as soon as possible to ensure no more injuries occurred.

Thankfully, only a couple of the puzzles needed to be repaired. It had been a stressful day overall, so even though she was not exhausted Toriel was happy to see home again. The goat woman was met with a familiar song when she opened the door, though it took her a moment to place it.

 _'Ah yes, Woshua was scheduled to come tidy up a bit today.'_ With the emergency summons Toriel had forgotten all about it. She had planned to postpone the start of her patrol today, so she could be in the house when Woshua arrived. She hoped he hadn't startled the human too much.

Woshua was currently in the den. Toriel gave him a quick greeting and then went to check on her child. She was surprised to find their room empty, save for it's usual furnishings and the child's history assignment. Strange, it was unlike her child to skip out on school work, even if it was a harder subject. Perhaps they were just taking a break in another area of the house, or had hidden somewhere to avoid Woshua. Either option was likely, yet she exited the room with a heavy feeling in her chest.

Toriel went through the house, calling out for her child. The longer she went without hearing a response, the heavier her insides started to feel. Soon there was a dense ball of dread sitting in her stomach, and she began to search in earnest. She carefully moved knickknacks and furniture, trying to see if the child had gotten stuck somewhere and Toriel was simply unable to hear them. She also made sure to call out that the human was not in trouble and she just wanted to know where they were. Both methods proved futile.

"Woshua!" Toriel called out as she entered the kitchen, where the smaller monster had started washing the cabinets. The desperation was clear in her voice, so much that even the hyper-focused cleaner paused his task.

"Woshua, my friend, have you seen my child anywhere in the house today?"

"Small child?" the turtle-like monster said with a confused tilt of his head.

"Yes, the one I introduced you to."

"Saw them." Woshua confirmed with a nod. "Very dirty, tried to wash them."

The ball of dread inside Toriel started to rise a little, buoyed by a layer of suspicion.

"You _tried to wash them_?" The former Queen asked, her eyes narrowing. Woshua shrank under her gaze.

"Tried, yes, but they ran."

A ember of anger was added to Toriel's internal mixture. Woshua must have been able to sense it, because when she questioned him as to wear the child had run he started to look around worriedly and didn't answer.

"Woshua," Toriel's voice was low and dangerous. "what did you do to my child?"

The monster tried to dart past her, but Toriel had been expecting it. She grabbed him around his waste and held him at eye level. She felt a small pang of guilt when the little bird in his shell tweeted in distress, but didn't let it show on her face. She questioned him again, but Woshua could only stare back at her in terrified silence. The goat woman cast her eyes around the room, trying to think of some way to persuade him to talk. Being a water based monster her usual fire magic wouldn't be a very effective threat against him. Her gaze landed on the kitchen sink, where some dishes had been left to soak. She turned and held Woshua above the sink.

"Do you see what's bellow you?" She asked. Woshua looked down and shivered at the sight of the scummy water.

"If you do not tell me what happened to my child, I am going to drop you."

After that threat Woshua couldn't get the story out fast enough. Once he was done, Toriel gave him a long, hard stare. When he offered nothing more, Toriel became convinced he had told the whole story. She finally set him down, and very firmly suggested that he make arrangements with his family in Waterfall. He did not argue, and scurried out of the house as quickly as he could. When she was sure he was gone, Toriel ran for the stairs.

It was a struggle to keep herself from breaking into a mad dash. As desperate as she was to find her child, she knew that moving too hastily could cause her to miss them. Worse yet, she could accidentally hurt them herself. So she moved quickly but carefully down the hall. When she didn't find them inside, her panic became harder to contain. The thought of her child outside the Ruins against their will, alone, scared, and most likely freezing, was almost too much for her.

The crunching of snow under her feet brought horrible images to her mind. She tried to drown the sound out by calling for her child, but she received no response.

That is, until she reached a wooden bridge.

A small, shrill cry rang out through the forest. Toriel forgot her earlier caution and broke into a run. She came to a clearing, and froze.

Her child lay sprawled out in the snow, gazing fearfully at a shadowy figure that towered over them. The monster moved, and she saw that he was holding a blood red trident. He raised it up.

She tried to do something, anything, but it felt like she was moving through deep water. She could not get there fast enough and her magic was taking too long to form.

The trident descended, and there was a sickening _crunch_.

It felt like everything within her had come to a grinding halt. Her child barely made any sound before they went still. The trident lifted up, and started to take the child with it. After a few moments however, gravity did it's job and the human fell to the ground like a broken doll.

That's when Toriel's legs gave out, and she fell to her knees. She stared down at her child's mangled body, their red blood staining the snow, and swore she could feel her own soul shattering.

'So you have failed again.'

The looming shadow was gone. In it's place stood stood a small luminescent being, rather vague in appearance but all too familiar to Toriel. Even if she didn't recognized the face no other being she'd known wore a cowboy hat.

"It was supposed to be different this time! They actually agreed to stay, and took my warnings seriously! When I discovered they were in trouble I came as quick as I could-"

'A courtesy you didn't extend to any of us.'

A new figure had appeared beside the cowboy, a bandanna tied snugly around their head.

'You left us.' Toriel whipped her head to the left, where the new voice had come from. Accusing eyes peeked over wire rimmed glasses. 'The king may have stolen our souls, but you left us in the dark and forgot about us.'

"No!" Toriel cried out. "I could never forget you! Please, my children, if you believe nothing else believe that."

'Do you truly mean that?' Toriel swung her gaze forward again, meeting eyes that tried to hide behind a tiny frying pan.

"Of course, you were all my children. I love you dearly and could never forget you."

'Prove it.' The figure with the bandanna demanded.

"How? Tell me what I must do."

'Answer our question.' The reply came from her right. Toriel turned again, knowing who she would find. It was the ballerina who had spoken; the child with the ribbon stood behind, waiting quietly for their turn.

"What would you ask my children?"

The last child was the one to reply.

'What is my name?'

The question bewildered the mother, and it took her a minute to respond. "Your name? Surely you must remember your own name." She looked around at the tiny glowing figures. "You do, don't you?" The child with the glasses shook their head.

'Names are the first things to go. We can still recall other things though.'

'I still remember my dance teacher.'

'And the sunshine on the river.'

'The smell of fresh baked cookies.'

'My true mama.'

The voices of the lost children followed each other in quick succession. Toriel winced at the last utterance, and hung her head shamefully.

"It was never my intent to take the place of anyone you loved."

'Perhaps not, but you tried to fulfill our need for them. Maybe if you had tried harder we would be more than these slips of memory.'

The figures began to fade.

"No! Please stay just a bit longer!" Toriel reached out to her children, but they only slipped away faster.

 **'If you had truly cared for us, you would remember our names.'**

Toriel gasped and shot upright. The covers of her bed fell from her, and she grasped the front of her night dress tightly. She struggled to get her breathing under control, and banish the phantom pains in her chest. When each of the human children had left the Ruins, Toriel had felt as though they had created a new crack in her soul. Right now, it felt like each of those fissures was pulsing.

The goat woman was fully aware now that she had been dreaming. One particular part of the dream flashed though her mind, a red trident being brought down, and she jumped out of bed. She knew it was ridiculous, knew perfectly well that the memory did not end the way it did in her nightmare. The heart stopping image still hung heavy in her mind though, and Toriel would not be able to rest until she was absolutely sure.

She padded down the hallway, quietly sneaking to her child's room. The human would not benefit from being woken in the middle of the night, especially so soon after they had been returned. She eased open the last panel of the dividing screen, and willed a small flame to hover over her left palm.

In the flickering orange light, Toriel could finally see her child. Relief washed over her as she gazed at them, their breathing steady and expression peaceful. Not willing to leave just yet, Toriel sat down cross-legged and continued to watch them. Her mind drifted to what the nightmare versions of her other children had asked of her.

The apparitions had been inaccurate, but not entirely so. When the first couple of humans had fallen into the Ruins, she had asked for their names. However, she had given up the practice after those first few. The loss of Asriel and Chara had created deep cracks in her soul, and when the new humans left they had added to them. With the future children, she had not asked for their names and tried not to take special note of them if the names were given anyway. She had thought that keeping that bit of distance from them would ease some of the pain should they choose to leave.

There was little difference in the end though. She did not have a name to agonize over, but that didn't stop her from remembering little moments shared between her and the fallen children. Now that she thought back on it, she regretted never recording such a vital part of the childrens' identity.

"Mom?" Her child's sleepy voice interrupted Toriel's musings. "Is something wrong?"

"No, my child. I'm just having a bit of trouble sleeping." she answered softly, and gave their hair a gentle stroke with the tip of her finger.

"Oh...can I help?"

Toriel smiled, proud that her child was so considerate, even when they were only half awake.

"You already have, dear one."

"Really? Ok..." Their eyes began to drift shut.

"My child." Their eyes opened again. "Please tell me, what is you name?"

"Name...? It's Frisk..."

"I see, thank you."

Frisk nodded slightly, and began to drift off once more.

"Good night, Mom."

"Good night, Frisk."

* * *

 **A.N.**

This chapter technically happens a few days after the last one.

I read the graphic novel version of 'Coraline' a little while ago. The scene where Coraline is talking to the ghost children inspired some of the dialogue for Toriel's nightmare.

This was a little different compared to my usual fair for this story, so let me know what you think. Also, would anyone be interested in a few one-shots exploring the idea of Tiny!Chara?


	10. Unexpected Visitor

The first time Frisk 'met' Undyne was no an official introduction.

Sans and Papyrus had Frisk over for the afternoon while Toriel did her patrols. Sans was busy napping, of coursse, so Frisk was spending time with Papyrus. He was currently showing off his action figure collection.

"They are great for battle scenarios. How did I get so many? Let's just say...they are from a chubby, smiling man who loves to surprise people. Santa!"

"Monsters know about Santa too?" Frisk asked from her place on the table with the toys.

"Of course! He has all the good boys and girls on his list after all."

That made sense, Frisk mused. Papyrus had probably been at the top of the nice list for years, along with Toriel when she was younger. Sans was nice too, but he was probably a bit lower on the list due to his numerous pranks.

To be honest, Frisk had initially stopped believing in Santa. He seemed to fantastic to be real, and often missed their house. They had once that that monsters weren't real either though, so they were willing to reconsider a few things.

"These three are a part of a set, you see. That means they are best friends and should not be kept apart..."

Papyrus had moved on to explaining the figurine's back stories, but he did it so quickly that Frisk couldn't really keep up. So they just wondered the table top studying the toys as the skeleton talked. The collection brought up mixed feelings in the human.

One one hand it was nice to have something that was their own size outside of their bedroom. Frisk could imagine that the figurines were actually store mannequins, maybe from some specialty costume shop. On the other hand, they toys could be pretty unsettling. With big monster hands it was hard to get little details right, so some of the faces came out looking...off. Sometimes the pupils were too small, or the smile too wide. Papyrus didn't seem to notice that though, so Frisk refrained from pointing it out. They didn't want to ruin his fun.

Suddenly a shrill beeping sounded througout the room. Papyrus quickly ran over to his bedside table and pushed a button on his alarm clock; then he looked at the display.

"HOLEY MOLEY!" he cried. "IF I DON'T BOOK IT I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR PRACTICE WITH UNDYNE!"

The skeleton dramatically pulled off his 'battle body' to reveal an outfit that involved basket balls and a baseball cap.

"GOODBYE TINY HUMAN! I HOPE YOU ARE ABLE TO WAKE SANS!" Then he sped out the door and down the stairs. A moment later Frisk heard the front door open and close.

For a minute the human just stood there, stunned by the quick change of circumstance. They recovered soon enough though; one had to get used to such things in the presence of The Great Papyrus. Frisk looked at the figurines surrounding them. The Papyrus had said Frisk should wake up Sans now that the taller skeleton was gone, or at least heavily implied that they should. But they they decided to let the punster sleep for a bit longer. They knew from experience that Sans didn't often sleep through the night, despite how hard he tried not to wake them after wouldn't be any harm in letting Sans get a few more Z's, they could take care of themselves for a bit.

Unbeknownst to Frisk or Papyrus though, Sans had turned every clock in the house back by 30 minutes in preparation for a later prank. Which meant that Papyrus had been late for a while, and Undyne had already started to take things into her own hands.

Frisk had decided to implement their own form of play with Pap's action figures. They moved any models with disturbing expressions off to one side, dubbing them 'the invading zombie horde', and demoted the rest of the figures to 'helpless civilians'. They took a helmet, sword, and shield from three separate 'civilians' and turned to face the group of 'zombies'.

Frisk went after the nearest figure, tapping at it with the sward and pretending to fend off counter attacks. Finally they knocked the figure over and did a combat roll that placed them in front of another opponent. Frisk went through two more zombies before they were interrupted by a banging on the door.

"Hey Papyrus! You in there?! You're late for training!"

Frisk could hear the angry voice all the wy through the door and up the stairs. It was only when there was no response, no sign of Sans getting up, that fear settled over them. The sound of splintering wood exploded from downstairs, and the voice became much clearer.

"Don't think you can skip out that easily bone boy!"

Footsteps thundered through the living room and onto the stairs. Thinking quickly, Frisk positioned their body so their back was to the door and the shield hid their face from view. They let their sword and drop so they wouldn't have to keep it up. They got into position just in time.

Papyrus's door banged against the wall and heavy footsteps came into the room.

"What?! Not in the kitchen and not in here either? And no way he'd go into Sans room."

Frisk desperately wanted to get a look at this new monster, but didn't dare to move. None of the monsters they'd met or seen acted like this. Even Papyrus, with his loud voice and quick movements, didn't seem this scary. The monster's stomping made the wood beneath their feet quiver, and the shouted words rattled around the child's brain.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of Frisk's neck stood up, and they knew they were being watched.

"Hmph, I knew the punk had toys like this; he shows off his new one every year. Didn't know he actually played with them like this though. Ha! He's as nerdy as Alphys!"

Frisk was starting to get light headed from taking such shallow breaths. When a shadow loomed over them they stopped breathing altogether. What if Undyne tried to pick them up? There's no way they could stay still enough to fool the monster if they were held, body heat alone could give them away!

The shadow became darker, and they sense something hovering over them. Frisk's chest became painfully tight as they continued to hold their breath. The child could feel their heartbeat pulse through their whole body. The shadow grew darker, the movement closer...

"maybe you should change your name from **undyne** to **uninvited**."

If Frisk's muscles hadn't been so stiff they might have collapsed in relief upon hearing Sans's gruff voice.

"Hey! You're supposed to be on patrol duty right now!"

"and you're supposed to be training with my bro. i guess we're both slacking off today."

"WHAT?! No way punk! I don't slack off! You're brother is the one who was late and made me come looking for him."

"you didn't run into him on the way here? funny, could've sworn i heard him head out to meet ya. maybe he decided to take the roundabout way and went with the river person. he does that when he's running late sometimes."

"Dang it! I told him that running everywhere is one of the best ways to up your stamina. I'll make him do twice as many laps today to drill that into his skull!"

Then Undyne pounded out of the room and down the stairs. For a few long moments there was silence.

"she's gone kid."

Frisk immediately let fo of the facade. The room was filled with the sound of tiny gasps as the human pulled in much needed oxygen. Sans, after waiting a moment to make sure the human's breathing evened out, found he couldn't help himself.

"sorry about accidentally leaving you alone with undyne. she can really _leave you breathless_ , huh small fry?"

Frisk shakily sat down, turning a bit so they could give the skeleton a half-hearted glare. Their muscles twitched and trembled after being held stiff for so long.

Meanwhile, Sans moved further into the room and looked over the scene Frisk had created.

"what ya got going on here kid?"

Frisk pointed a trembling hand at the opposing force.

"I'm defeding the citizens from the zombies."

"oh, i see." Sans's grin became a bit mischeivous. "think you'll win?"

"It will be a hard battle, but the citizens are safe under my protection." Frisk said with mock severity.

"well, what if the zombies also had a giant skeleton on their side?"

"It doesn't matter! The people must be defended at all costs!"

Sans's eye lit up and a blue aura surruounded the action figure nearest to Frisk.

"You wanna give it a shot then?"

Frisk grinned, and swung their sword at the figure. Sans magic moved it's sword to meet the human's, and the fight was on.

* * *

Papyrus was quite confused upon entering his room. Half of his action figures stood upright while the other half were all knocked over. Sans lay on the ground with one arm laying across his face, like he'd just fainted in an melodramatic fashion, and his human friend was standing on the table dressed like several of his action figures. The human was panting with exhaustion, but smiling none-the-less.

"ERM...SANS, HUMAN, WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED HERE?"

"They are defeated!" Frisk proclaimed. "I have defeated the evil zombie horde and their giant ally." Frisk then threw down the shield and sword down on the table and turned to Papyrus with open arms.

"Hug me!"

Despite his ongoing confusion, Papyrus returned his friend's smile.

"OF COURSE! VICTORY HUGS ARE THE BEST KIND OF HUGS!" Papyrus scooped Frisk up and held them against his chest letting them snuggle into the end of his scarf.

"traitor." Sans accused from the floor.

"YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US BROTHER."

"nah, that would require getting up."

"LAZY BONES! YOU'RE A BAD INFLUENCE, THE HUMAN IS ALREADY FALLING ASLEEP."

"guess that means i'm the real winner."

"SANS!"

* * *

 **A.N.**

I got someone requesting Frisk meeting Undyne, and other wondering about Frisk being mistaken for a doll. So I decided to write a chapter in which I touched on both. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated!


	11. An Order of Fries

It always took a while to convince Toriel to let Frisk have a sleep over with Sans and Papyrus. It wasn't that she didn't trust the skeleton brothers, but being away from her child for extended periods made her anxious. That anxiety had briefly intensified after Toriel learned about her child's close brush with Undyne, and for a while she would not hear of Frisk leaving the Ruins again. Even now, Frisk had to spend a few days alternating between sweet talking and cajoling in order to make it happen.

Which is why Frisk really wished Toriel and Sans would wrap up their pun session so they could head out already.

The human was clinging to the white fluff of Sans's hood. They had to hold on tight otherwise they would fall down to the bottom, and Frisk wanted to be able to see so they could give Toriel a proper good-bye. That didn't seem like it would be happening any time soon though, as Toriel was still bent over laughing at Sans's last pun.

Normally Frisk would be happy to witness this, but after being cooped up at home they were eager to be out and about. Toriel managed to stop laughing, only to come back with a pun of her own. Resigning themself to their fate, Frisk let go and let themself slip down into the depths of the hood. As always, the spot was warm and comfortable. Despite their irritation at the delay, they started to relax. Soon they were drifting off.

* * *

"My child?"

Sans stood still as Toriel moved his hood, trying to get a look at the tiny human inside. He heard the taller monster chuckle.

"Perhaps our jokes were not as enlightened as we thought, Frisk has already fallen asleep."

"hey, everybody's got their own sense of humor. ain't our fault the kid couldn't _stand_ it."

Toriel laughed, but didn't retaliate. It was evening now, and Toriel feared another pun battle would force the pair to travel at night. She blew a kiss to her sleeping child, and escorted Sans to the door.

"we'll be _baaaaaaa_ -ck before you know it tori. don't sweat it alright?"

"I shall do my best, and be certain that you do. You wouldn't want me to become _bonely_ tomorrow, would you?"

The two shared one more laugh before Sans left the Ruins. Once he reached his guard station he looked around, to make sure he was alone, and then checked if the kid was still asleep. Only then did he take his shortcut.

He hoped that the small fry would sleep through it. That way any nausea would pass before Frisk woke up, and they wouldn't have to deal with it back at the house. It worked, and the kid continued to sleep soundly as he arrived on the outskirts of Snowdin. Sans strolled through the town, admiring how the light from houses glowed brighter when the cave crystals dimmed. Their own simulated version of the surface's nighttime.

One particular set of windows drew his attention, Grillby's. He'd been at Toriel's longer than anticipated, and hadn't had any kind of supper yet. He knew Pap would probably want to cook for their little guest, but that didn't mean he couldn't stop in for a quick bite, right? Kid was asleep, so they wouldn't notice the detour, and Grillby worked fast so he'd still be home with the kid soon. Just like that the decision was made and Sans was walking through the bar's front door.

There were just a couple of other patrons, since they were past the dinner rush and most monsters had some kind of work the next day. Sans greeted the few that were there as he walked to the bar, and greeted Grillby as he sat on his usual stool.

"hey pal, _burning the midnight_ oil huh? Mind grabbing me an order of burg before you close up?" Sans considered a moment. "Maybe add on an order of fries too." He'd save some for when Frisk woke up. Fries for the small fry, Sans thought to himself with a chuckle.

Grillby, who believed the chuckle was because of the 'burning' pun, rolled his eyes but got to work. Sans had a multitude of fire based puns he reserved for the elemental, but he used that one almost every time he came into the restaurant late. Grillby had the food out in a matter of minutes and went back to his chores after he delivered it to the skeleton.

Sans dug into the burger, though he slathered both it and the fries in ketchup first. You could never have too much ketchup in Sans's opinion.

However, Sans didn't count on how drowsy food would make him. His sleep had been interrupted by nightmares, and he didn't slip in as many naps as he usually did during the day. Now that he wasn't craving sustenance, his body demanded the sleep he'd been deprived of earlier. He felt himself begin to droop, but didn't get up to leave. It would be rude to leave before finishing at least one entree, he reasoned. Even if it wasn't rude the other monsters would consider it weird for him to do so, he was known to pass out in different places. He'd finish the burger, then call his bro and pretend to get yelled at to get home (he might not even need to pretend).

Yeah...that was a good plan...good plan...good...

* * *

Frisk woke up to almost complete darkness. They jolted awake, reaching out with their hands to get a feel for where they were. They felt a little silly for doing so when they recognized the fluff of Sans's hood.

Still, what were they still doing in Sans's hood? They weren't still in the Ruins were they? No, they would be able to hear puns being exchanged if that were still the case. Right now things were quiet...really quiet. If they had made it to the house they should be hearing things like the TV or Papyrus chattering, but it was silent. They weren't at the Ruins, they weren't at the skeleton brother's house, and Sans wasn't moving so they weren't in transit.

What was going on?

Needing to know, Frisk rolled onto their hands and knees and started to crawl. That was another weird thing; if Sans were standing up this should have been a climb, not a crawl.

They crawled towards the bit of light that marked the top of Sans's hood, listening carefully for any new sounds. There were none. When they reached the edge of the hood they poked their head out, and took a look around.

They definitely didn't recognize this place. The light was low, so it didn't hurt their eyes, but it was still enough for Frisk to get a good look at the place. Based on the long line of glasses they could see across from them, Frisk guessed they were in some kind of bar or restaurant. They looked down; Sans's skull was right in front of them of course, and it seemed to be resting on a long wooden surface alongside a plate of fries. Probably a bar then. Now that the hood wasn't there to block any sound they could hear that Sans was snoring softly.

Had he really been that tired? Frisk felt a little guilty for insisting on the sleep over now. Still, this left them in a little bit of a dilemma. Cautiously, Frisk leaned further out of the hood so they could look around the whole room. Thankfully no one else seemed to be around, that would make this easier.

"Sans!" Frisk called out, not quite daring to yell. "Sans wake up!" The skeleton monster didn't stir.

They called his name again, and rapped on the back of his skull. Still nothing. They smacked his skull with both hands, no response. Frustrated, Frisk exited the hood and slid down Sans's coat so that could land on the bar top. Then they marched over to Sans's face, pushed and poked at it, and demanded he get up once again.

Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Frisk sat down with a huff, trying to think of some way to wake the lazy bones. They were interrupted when their stomach let out a gurgle of dismay, which reminded Frisk that they hadn't had any supper yet. They glanced over at the fries they noticed earlier, and quickly looked away. They needed to think of a way to get Sans up and out of here, food could wait till later.

Their stomach grumbled again, much louder this time.

On the other hand, it would be easier to think if they weren't distracted by hunger. Plus it would be hard to hide if their stomach kept making noises against their will. This place was empty, for now at least, so they could take the opportunity to grab a few bites.

Frisk scurried over to the plate and dug in. The food was covered in ketchup, like most food Sans came into contact with, but they didn't mind. They grabbed a fry with both hands and started taking bites off the end. The fries were lukewarm, which wasn't ideal, but they would take what they could get.

After a minute of munching, Frisk started to feel weird. Not like the food disagreed with them, but like someone was watching them. The turned to look back at Sans, but he was still sleeping, and no one had entered the seating area. They turned back to their food, and paused when they noticed an orange glow that hadn't been there before. They looked up, and their mouth dropped open.

Frisk was beginning to think they would never learn everything about Monsterkind, because before now they had no idea that monsters could be made entirely of flame. The fiery humanoid was wearing a server's uniform, somehow, and leaning back against the shelf of glasses. Their arms were crossed, and their head was tilted as they looked at the human.

The strangest thing was that Frisk didn't feel the need to hide. Almost every time they'd been introduced to a new monster they had been scared on some level, hesitant to approach or wanting to flee. But this monster didn't elicit either of those reactions.

They could sense no malevolence from the fire monster. He didn't look ready to spring forward and grab Frisk, he was relaxed, and the head tilt made the monster look curious. It had been a while, but Frisk could still remember how their introductions with the monsters in the Ruins had gone. Most of those had ended well, so they decided to try for something similar here.

"Hello. My name is Frisk. Sans was supposed to take me home, but I guess he needed a break." Frisk sent a quick glance to the skeleton, and when they looked back the fire monster's white eyes had scrunched up slightly. "Um...is it okay if I stay here until he wakes up?"

Frisk looked up at the monster with pleading eyes. The fire monster considered the child for several moments, then reached forward and picked up the plate of fries.

At first Frisk thought that was a refusal, that he was cleaning up and wanted them both out. But instead of kicking them out, the fire monster placed one hand underneath the plate and one hand above it. Then his red flames shifted, became orange, and white and blue flames flared to life in the center of his hands. Frisk watched the changed in wide eyed fascination. After a minute the white and blue flames disappeared, and the fire monster regained his previous colors.

He gently returned the plate to it's place on the bar, then pulled something out of his breast pocket. He placed it next to Frisk, and they saw that it was a cloth napkin. Frisk looked down at themself, realizing that they'd managed to get the ketchup from the fries all over their hands and onto their shirt. They smiled sheepishly at him, and nodded in gratitude before grabbing a corner of the napkin. The monster's eyes scrunched up again, which Frisk interpreted as amusement.

There was no more conversation after that. Frisk cleaned themself off as best they could, then went back to eating. The fries were much better now that they had been heated up. Occasionally they would watch the fire monster to see what he was up to. It sometimes took a minute to find the monster, because he made so little noise when moving around. Frisk wondered if that had something to do with him being made of fire. From what they could remember of science class, flames didn't have their own mass.

Of course, Monsters were made mostly of magic. Some of Frisk's science classes may not apply.

In any case, as Frisk ate the fire monster went around wiping down tables and putting things away. It must be closing time; which was a good thing for Frisk. They had done alright with the bartender, but they didn't like the idea of waking up to a crowd of unfamiliar monsters around them.

The empty bar was also fortunate for the fire monster, because Frisk doubted that other patrons would have been pleased by Papyrus's sudden entrance. The tall skeleton suddenly burst into the bar, nearly throwing door off its hinges.

"SAAAAAANS!" Papyrus yelled. "HOW DARE YOU PASS OUT HERE WHEN YOU PROMISED ME A SURPISE ALONG WITH MY BEDTIME STORY!" Papyrus marched up to his brother's sleeping form, not noticing Frisk until he was standing at the bar. When Papyrus spotted the child his eye socket's widened.

"HU- I mean, Frisk! What are you doing here?"

"Didn't Sans tell you?" Frisk looked up at him in confusion. "I finally got permission for a sleepover from Mom."

"Oh!" Frisk could almost see the light bulb appear above Pap's head. "So that is the surprise Sans was hinting at yesterday. And then he manages to fall asleep before he can deliver you safely to the house?! Honestly! I don't know what I'm going to do with this lazy bones."

The skeleton suddenly deflated a bit, and turned to the fire monster who was now polishing a glass near the end of the bar.

"Ah Grillby, I am most sorry that you had to watch over my brother yet again. I've talked to him about this numerous times, but his stubbornness knows no end."

Grillby waved a hand dismissively, and that brightened Papyrus's expression.

"Thank you for your understanding, and thank you for keeping an eye on our little friend. It is most appreciated. But...perhaps you could do us the favor of not mentioning them to anyone else?"

Grillby's eyes scrunched again, and he nodded firmly.

"Excellent! I will bring you some of my best spaghetti to show my gratitude. Now, come along Frisk."

Papyrus scooped the human up and placed his hand on his shoulder. Frisk quickly crawled over to his red scarf and secured themself there; it was a well practiced move by now. They held on as Papyrus bent down and hefted the still sleeping Sans up and under his arm. Then the tall skeleton strolled toward the door, like this was a completely normal occurrence.

Frisk twisted around so they could get one last look at Grillby. When they found the fire monster watching, they waved at him. Grillby returned it just as the door closed behind Papyrus.

* * *

 **A.N.**

I figure Frisk deserved at least one calm introduction, especially after the fright Undyne gave them in the last chapter.

Please read and review! Remember that requests are welcome. :)

I'm also going to take this time to perform some shameless self-promotion. If you are reading this story I can assume you enjoy G/t or borrower type stories, so I wanted to let you know that I have a Fullmetal Alchemist Borrower AU in the works. The premise is that Ed, Al, Winry, and Pinako are all borrowers living in the walls of the East City base, specifically the walls around Colonel Mustangs office. I've got a few chapter written already, and wanted to get at least one more done before I start posting them, but I'm hoping to get the story out soon.


	12. Meeting Undyne (for real this time)

It started with the drawings on the fridge.

Undyne was having tea at the house of the skeleton brothers, as she often did after finishing a training session with Papyrus, when she noticed that the fridge was covered with crayon drawings. That itself wasn't too suspicious, since she knew Papyrus got artsy from time to time. It was the subject matter that was strange. When Papyrus drew pictures they were typically of himself doing something awesome, with the occasional guest appearance by Sans, Mettaton, or herself.

These pictures featured monsters she had never seen before, most predominantly a white monster that reminded her of Asgore. Papyrus was in some pictures, but he was not the focus. She counted it out, and he was in precisely the same amount of pictures as his brother was.

"Hey Papyrus, whose the new artist around here?"

Papyrus was busy gathering ingredients for spaghetti. That had also turned into a tradition. Training made a monster hungry, and this way they could fit in a cooking lesson before parting ways.

"HMM? ARTIST?" Papyrus turned away from his work to see what his friend was referring to. When he saw her looking at the fridge he suddenly stalled.

"O-OH! YOU MEAN AN ARTIST FOR THOSE? WELL, UM, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT ISN'T ME OR SANS?"

Undyne snorted. Sans doing crayon drawings? The shorter skeleton didn't even have enough ambition to stay awake during work; she couldn't picture him going out of his way to draw this much. Even if they were just basic crayon drawings.

"Sans...doesn't seem like the type. And these aren't your usual style."

"I SUPPOSE IT IS HARD TO MATCH THE GREATNESS OF MY ARTISTIC CALIBER. I CAN HARDLY BLAME THEM FOR FALLING A BIT SHORT."

"Them?" Undyne asked, raising an eyebrow.

"UH, WELL, YES, THEM. THEY ARE...UH...A CHILD, WHO BELONGS TO A FRIEND OF SANS."

"You punks have taken up babysitting? Since when?"

"I...DON'T RECALL PRECISELY HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN GOING ON. SANS MADE FRIENDS WITH A MONSTER WHO...SHE LIVES NEAR HIS WORK STATION. SHE IS A SINGLE PARENT, SO SOMETIMES WE LOOK AFTER HER CHILD."

She raised both eyebrows this time. "That's pretty generous of you guys."

"IT'S THE LEAST ONE AS GREAT AS MYSELF CAN DO FOR A MONSTER WHO FINALLY MANAGED TO GET MY LAZY BROTHER TO TAKE AN INTEREST IN SOMETHING!"

There was the passionate Papyrus she knew! Why had he been so nervous earlier?

Papyrus took the lull in the conversation as permission to go back to preparing his pasta. Undyne frowned when he got the pot out from it's cupboard and gently set it on the stove.

That was another weird thing she had been noticing. Normally Papyrus was boisterous with just about everything, even his most casual movements. But recently that recklessness was being reserved for his physical training and his voice. Their cooking sessions had become much more tame, a lot less banging and hardly any fires.

At first Undyne figured that all the physical training was finally paying off, making him think about his movements more. They had just been doing the same thing as they always did for training though, so why the sudden change? And why was Papyrus so anxious about something as simple as pictures on the fridge?

She was beginning to think that something was up with her pupil.

* * *

In the coming weeks, she decided it wasn't just Papyrus. Something was up with Sans too.

She used to come over unannounced all the time, but suddenly they were against it. Now when she came over they would shoo her out, or one of them would find an excuse to leave. Papyrus would propose impromptu training at her place, or Sans would think of an errand to run. It was weird for Sans to be so active. Heck, he even started consistently showing up for work!

She tried confronting the brother's about their behavior, but she didn't get anywhere. Papyrus just loudly proclaimed that nothing could be wrong with someone as great as him, and Sans would deflect her questions with puns and jokes.

So she decided to go to another source.

"St-strange behavior? What d-do you mean Undyne?"

It had taken some planning to get to Alphys's lab without suffering heat exhaustion, but it would be worth it if the cute scientist could provide her with some answers.

"You've got camera's stashed all over the Underground don't ya? So you can know ahead of time if a human shows up? I'm asking if you've seen Papyrus or Sans doing anything weird, or just not normal for them."

"Well, n-now that you mention it, Sans had been visiting the doors to the Ruins a lot recently. Sometimes he even goes there when he shouldn't have any s-sentry work. I think I've even seen the Ruin doors open up when he g-goes there!"

"Seriously? I thought those doors had been locked for ages."

"They have been, that's what is so strange. I can't say for sure th-that they've opened though, the camera doesn't have a direct view of the doors, I didn't think it would n-need to. And I think...maybe..." Alphys wrung her hands nervously.

"Maybe what?" Undyne demanded.

"I haven't said anything t-to Asgore, because I don't want to get his h-hopes up, but a couple times, I think I saw Queen T-toriel."

"What?!" Undyne had never seen the Queen in person, but Asgore sometimes brought pictures of her when he came over for tea. That usually meant he was having a rough day. Undyne's mind flashed back to the white monsters in the drawings she'd seen.

"Now I definitely have to figure out what's going on." Undyne said with a determined growl. That made Alphys blush for some reason. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Um, I g-guess P-papyrus has b-been staying inside m-more often. Th-that's it."

"I see." Undyne dropped her serious look to properly thank the scientist, replacing it with a big grin. "Thanks Alphys! This was super helpful!"

Alphys seemed to have a hard time forming a coherent sentence after that, so Undyne gave her a quick good-bye and left so the scientist could compose herself.

The serious expression returned when Undyne closed the door and started marching away. She had a couple of skeletons to interrogate, and nothing was going to deter her this time.

* * *

"Papyrus! Sans! I need to talk to you dorks RIGHT NOW!" Undyne yelled as she kicked the skelebros door open.

Papyrus was watching TV on the couch, because Mettaton was on, and Sans was sitting on the floor surrounded by paper and crayons. Both of them looked like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar. Sans was the first to recover.

"what's up **u** **ninvited**? you _got a bone_ to pick with us?" He asked with a wink. She had to wait for Papyrus's screaming to die down before she continued.

"You punks have both been acting weird and now Alphys is telling me the doors to the Ruins have been opening and she's maybe seen the Queen of all people! What the heck is that all about?!"

"ER, THE QUEEN YOU SAY?" Papyrus was trying very hard to act casual, and was failing horribly. She could already see beads of sweat forming on his skull.

"can't say i've noticed any unfamiliar faces hanging around snowdin." Sans said with a shrug. "and i've actually been making an effort in my sentry duties, so i'd know."

"That's one of the things that's weird!" Undyne shouted. She would have continued her accusations, but then she noticed something. Sans was shifting his seat on the floor, crinkling the papers as he did so. That brought her attention to the ground, and what sat behind Sans.

The sock with the series of sticky pads on it had been a fixture of the skelebros living room for a while now. But for some reason it looked a bit bigger this time and...was it trembling? She couldn't tell for sure, because Sans's body was suddenly blocking it from view.

"funny that you accuse us of _acting fishy_ , your the one staring off into space." Undyne narrowed her eyes at the short skeleton.

"I saw that sock move."

"I WISH IT WOULD MOVE, PREFERABLY BACK TO SANS'S ROOM!"

"aw bro, you know the living room wouldn't be the same without it."

"Stop trying to distract me!" Undyne yelled.

She lunged for sock, and was pleased when Sans moved out of her way. She was not pleased when he used his telekinesis to take the quivering sock with him. The glowing blue sock flew into his hands, and then Sans and his cargo blinked out of existence and reappeared at the top of the stairs. She went roaring after him. The moment she reached the top step Sans was gone and reappeared on the couch next to Papyrus.

"BROTHER! STOP TAKING SUCH SHORT TRIPS! WE MUST GAIN DISTANCE!" Without waiting for a response Papyrus tucked Sans under his arm and ran for the door. Undyne leaped over the banister, the wooden floor groaned with the force of her impact. Papyrus is almost at the door, and Undyne is only a couple steps behind. Papyrus let out a 'Nyeh!' and heaved Sans over his head, trying to keep his brother out of Undyne's reach.

Such is the scene that met Toriel when she opened the door.

"What in the Underground is going on?" She asked in bewilderment. Everyone had froze when the door opened, so Sans was still dangling over his brother's head and Undyne was balancing on one leg with her arms outstretched.

"Your Majesty?" Undyne asked uncertainly. Toriel sighed.

"Technically, yes. That being said, I order you all to the couch so we can talk this out. Whatever this is."

Undyne was confused by the Queen's appearance here, but fell back on her loyalty to Asgore and the Underground itself. Even if she and Asgore were estranged, that loyalty should still extend to the Queen, right?

Undyne made her way to the couch. Papyrus put Sans down and followed suit. Before Sans moved to join them, he pressed the sock into the Queen's hands. Her eyes widened, and she gently placed it in a pocket in the front of her dress.

What the heck was that all about?

Once everyone was seated on the couch, Toriel addressed them.

"You must be Miss Undyne, correct? Papyrus has mentioned you on several occasions."

"You knew the Queen was around here and you didn't tell me?" Undyne sent Papyrus a scathing look. The taller skeleton withered.

"I asked both of them to keep my location secret." Toriel explained. "You're rather young to have recognized me as Queen on sight. Can I assume you know Asgore personally?"

"Yeah, I do. He trained me."

"I see." Toriel's voice grew soft and wistful. "I'm glad he is making new connections. I'm sure he needs them just as much as I did."

"If you're so concerned about him then why are you hanging out here and keeping it a secret?" Undyne asked angrily. Loyal she may be, but she also hated seeing her friend and mentor in pain. Toriel's expression became more closed off.

"The situation between Asgore and myself is a complicated one, and I am not obligated to explain it to you or anyone else. You must be satisfied with the fact that I am simply not ready to see him again."

Sans sensed the growing tension, and decided to figuratively step in. "i'm pretty sure tori's marital status isn't the reason you decided to break down our door right? wasn't it because you thought we _had a skeleton in our closet_?"

Toriel snorted and Papyrus looked confused. Undyne thought she heard a squeak from somewhere too, did the house have mice?

"Yeah! You dorks have both been acting weird! Alphys said Sans has been going to the Ruins super often and Papyrus keeps staying inside instead of going out to train. And who has been making those drawings?! Pap said you babysit but I never see a kid around here, **and what the heck is up with the sock?!** "

The skeleton brothers glanced at each other and then looked to the Queen, waiting for her to make a decision. She looked apprehensive, and placed hand on the pocket that held the sock.

"Undyne, do you still view me as the Queen of Monsters?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Because the only way I will tell you what is going on is if you vow to keep it a secret, and I must be sure that you will keep your word."

"Hey! I keep my promises!" Undyne declared. The only exception might be if keeping the secret threatened someone's life, but she couldn't imagine the Queen doing something to harm the Underground.

"good to know we see _eye to socket_ on some things." Sans said with a grin. Papyrus groaned.

"So you promise?" Toriel pressed.

"Yeah, yeah, I promise, just tell me what's going on already."

Toriel nodded, and then carefully extracted the sock from her pocket. "My child, would you come out and say hello?"

The fabric quivered and bunched, and then a tiny head poked out from the top of the sock. Undyne's mouth fell open in shock.

"Saaans." A little voice whined. "You need to wash your sock."

"heh, sorry small fry, i'll bet the smell wasn't too pleasant those jumps i made."

The little creature shook its head vigorously.

"What. The heck. Is that." Undyne asked.

"THAT IS OUR TINY HUMAN FRIEND!" Papyrus proudly declared.

"What?! That's a human? No way!"

There's no way that tiny little pipsqueak could be a human! Humans were supposed to be cool and strong, like in Alphys's history books. Humans were supposed to be brutal and fierce enough to defeat monsters and force them into the Underground. How could a race of people as puny as this do all that?

"I imagine not many monsters would believe it, but it's true." Toriel said, running a finger tip through the supposed human's hair, making them close their eyes.

"i was surprised when i first met frisk too, but the research doesn't lie."

Well, that was a good point. Aside from the size difference the creature in the Queen's hand looked very similar to the ones in Alphys's books and cartoons, more similar than any monster she had seen. But if that was the case, then why were the others being quiet about this? Didn't they know what this meant? They only needed one more soul to break the barrier and free everyone, so why hadn't they taken the human to Asgore yet? Queen Toriel couldn't be that upset with Asgore could she? And Papyrus called the human his friend. She herself had trained him to search for humans and deliver them to her or the capital! He couldn't make friends with one!

Was the human tricking them somehow? That must be it. How else could a race of tiny beings have won against Monsters all those years ago? This little creature used its harmless looks to get monsters to put their guards down, and then it would strike when the monsters least expected it. And this human already had Queen Toriel fooled! This was serious! Undyne had to do something!

But she couldn't, not yet. She could tell from the way her friends and the Queen were acting that this human had them all fooled. If she attacked the human now, they would all try to defend it. She could take on Papyrus, she knew how he fought, and Sans was such a lazy bones he probably wouldn't be a problem. But attacking the Queen? If she was as strong as Asgore she would pose a big threat. Even if that weren't the case, she wasn't sure she could bring herself to FIGHT her Queen, the love of Asgore's life.

"So Undyne, will you join us in keeping this secret?"

"Uh, yeah, I will. That means I can start coming over without you guys kicking up a fuss right?"

"OF COURSE! I'M SURE THE TINY HUMAN WOULD ENJOY HAVING MORE FRIENDS!"

The human had the gall to smile. Undyne took a little comfort in the fact that it was a nervous smile.

Friends? Yeah, right. She was just doing this to keep an eye on the human, wait for a time when they would reveal their true intentions, or she could get a shot at the human without the others around. She could never be friends with a human!

* * *

 **A.N**.

To quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "I'm not dead!"


	13. A visit to the snail farm

Despite Undyne's promise, Toriel was reluctant to let Frisk out of her sight for a while. Frisk didn't complain this time around, they were nervous at the thought of seeing Undyne again too. Her loudness and swift movements were intimidating in a way Papyrus's had never been.

Still, it didn't take long for Frisk to become antsy. They had gotten used to getting out of the Ruins on a regular basis, so now their home felt smaller than ever. And no, the irony of a giant's home feeling small was not lost on them.

Frisk was busy coloring at the table while Toriel corrected their school work. Toriel was having a hard time concentrating on grading though, as she was still trying to find a solution to her child's growing cabin fever. Toriel glanced over at the human, watching as they dragged the gray crayon across the paper in a near perfect circle. Frisk was becoming quite talented at using over-sized utensils. Of course, they'd gotten so much use by now that the crayons were no longer as tall as Frisk, so that probably helped. It took Frisk adding a long oval beneath the circle, and giving the oval two lines of antenna for Toriel to realize that Frisk was drawing a snail.

 _'Come to think of it, I should really get some more of those soon...'_ Toriel thought to herself. And just like that, she was struck with an answer to her problem. Toriel smiled excitedly to herself, and was now able to breeze through her grading. When she was done, she put down her marking pen and turned to Frisk with a smile.

"My child, I've noticed that your history scores have greatly improved since you started school. Well done!"

"Well, I did have a pretty great teacher, it was bound to happen." Frisk said, looking up from their drawing with a satisfied grin.

"Oh stop it you flatterer." Toriel replied, giving her child a gentle, playful nudge. "Anyway, I was going to say that I think this is cause for celebration! How would you feel about going out?"

Frisk instantly perked up, but didn't jump on the invitation right away.

"You mean to visit Sans and Papyrus?" They asked anxiously.

"I had a different friend of yours in mind actually. How would you like to see Napstablook again?"

Frisk positively beamed up at Toriel, and started bouncing on their feet.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Toriel said with a laugh, and just like that preparations were underway.

* * *

Waterfall was so, soooooo, pretty!

Everything Frisk saw glowed with an ethereal, blue light. It lit the path perfectly, showing the way clearly without ever being overwhelming. Flowing water could be heard wherever they went. The air was cool, and just a little sharp, like early morning air just after it had rained.

Frisk couldn't see as much of it as they wanted too. One of Toriel's conditions for this trip was to stay inside her breast pocket and not be seen, but Frisk couldn't help peaking their head out now and then. Toriel must have suspected they would do this, because she didn't scold Frisk for looking. She just patted the pocket if Frisk started leaning out too far, or if there was someone coming, and Frisk would duck back down again.

Frisk really hoped they'd be able to truly explore this place someday, but seeing their friend would be enough for today.

"Hello Napstablook!" Toriel greeted, and Frisk had to hold themselves back from joining in. Toriel said that the visit would be a great surprise for the ghost, and Frisk would hate to reveal a surprise too early.

"How are you today, my friend?"

"Oh...I'm fine...I suppose..."

"That is good to hear. How is business going? Are you busy with any other customers right now?"

"No, it's just you right now...like usual..."

"Well in that case-"

"Hi Napstablook!" Frisk cried, popping out of the pocket. At least that's what they tried to do. It ended up sounding closer to 'Hi Nap-ack!' because they didn't account for how much the fabric would give beneath their feet and ended up pitching forward. Thankfully that also meant they didn't jump as high as planned, so the edge of the pocket caught them under their outstretched arms.

"M-my child! I know you are excited but please be careful!"

"Sorry Mom."

"Oh...it's you..." Napstablook said, even softer than usual. "It had been so long...I thought you forgot about me...not that I would blame you..."

The ghost's eyes started to tear up, and Frisk felt their chest tighten.

"No! I didn't forget you! It's just that it's hard for me to get out this far, and I haven't been spending as much time in the Ruins recently." Frisk rushed to reassure the ghost. Yet the tears continued to gather.

"Oh...I suppose it's been a while since I went to the Ruins too...so maybe it's my fault...I'm sorry..."

"Uh, that's okay, really, it's not anyone's fault..." Frisk wasn't sure what else to say, and Napstablook still looked so down. "Um, why don't you show us around instead? I'm pretty sure that's why Mom brought me out here."

Frisk looked up at Toriel questioningly, and she nodded.

"Indeed, Frisk hasn't seen many business here in the Underground, so I thought a tour might benefit their education."

Toriel didn't sound nearly as distressed as Frisk did in the presence of the crying ghost. Perhaps it was because she had known Napstablook longer, or maybe it was something that came with being a parent. Either way, her steady explanation and unaffected voice seemed to help the ghost feel a bit better.

"Well...it's not much...but I can show you around...if you really want to see."

Frisk nodded emphatically that they very much did. It turns out there really wasn't much to see, but that didn't stop Frisk from enjoying the farm immensely. Even before falling into the Underground, Frisk had considered seeing a new place to be a novel experience. They valued it even more now that they had so few places they could safely go.

The holding pen they were standing next to was the first thing to explore. Napstablook explained that he had a bit of a mixed customer base; some wanted the snails for pets and others as a food source for themselves or other pets. Frisk supposed they were a bit like mice in that way, though they weren't sure what pets would eat snails. She could see them being a pet though, because some of the snails looked really cool. They were definitely more varied than the snails where they had lived on the surface, and Frisk thought of asking to take one home. They decided against it though, after thinking about how Toriel made so many snail dishes. Frisk was sure their Mom wouldn't do anything to a pet snail, but it would probably make the snail pretty uncomfortable...

Next stop was a game Napstablook had set up, a snail race. Frisk assumed that a race like that would take a long time, so it would be boring. But Napstablook hesitantly asserted that the snails were actually pretty speedy, for snails at least, and that the race only took a minute or two. When Toriel admitted that she had never actually seen a snail race, Frisk insisted they give it a try right then and there. Toriel was a loyal, long time customer after all, she should get the full experience of the snail farm!

Toriel laughed at Frisk's reasoning, and paid the fee Napstablook asked for.

"Yours is the snail at the very end. You can cheer for them...if you want."

And cheer they did. Toriel pumped her fist in the air and whistled, and Frisk shouted encouragement from their place between Toriel's horns. Strangely though, that didn't seem to help. The snail paused whenever Frisk spoke or Toriel whistled, like the noise was distracting them. Frisk stopped yelling, and that seemed to help a bit, but the whistling still brought it up short. And...wait...was that smoke coming from it's shell?

Soon Frisk was drumming their hands on Toriel's head and telling her to stop. She did, but not before sparks could be seen flying from the shell.

"Goodness! Are they quite alright?" Toriel asked worriedly.

"Oh yeah...they do that sometimes...when they're stressed. I guess the pressure was a little to much for them..."

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to cause any pain."

Thankfully, the snail seemed to collect itself once things were quiet again, and kept going. There was no chance of it winning at this point though. Toriel tipped her head forward so Frisk would fall into her hands, and looked down at her child to make sure they were okay with this turn of events. She was happy to see that Frisk did not appear to be distressed, but was also curious about the thoughtful look her child was wearing.

"Can I race with them?" Frisk asked once all the snails had crossed the finish line.

"Well, if Napstablook is okay with it, then I don't see why not." Toriel replied slowly. Napstablook looked at the snails, and hummed thoughtfully.

"I don't think the snails would mind...so if it makes you happy, you can."

Toriel lowered her hands and Frisk ran to the starting line. They passed the first two snails, and stopped when they were by the last one, the one they had cheered earlier.

"Would you like to give the signal?" Napstablook asked, and Toriel nodded.

"On your mark, get set, GO!"

The snails and Frisk took off. Toriel had expected Frisk to bolt right out of the starting line and sprint the whole way, but instead Frisk started jogging, staying by the end snail. While they ran, Frisk kept making a 'come on' gesture with their arm, and smiled at the snail. Each time they did, the snail moved just a bit faster, and Frisk would match their pace. Before long the end snail was surpassing the other two snails, with Frisk still right beside them. They crossed the finish line together, tying for first place.

Toriel burst into cheers, having held back during the whole race. Frisk smiled and patted their competitor's shell before rejoining their mother.

"Did you see that? They seem so much happier now!" Frisk boasted as she was picked up by Toriel. She nodded.

"Hmmm, I suppose...having a friendly competitor made it a bit more fun...less stressful. Good job." Naptablook said. Frisk beamed at the ghost's praise.

Unfortunately, the snail races marked the end of the tour. Frisk was sad to see it end so soon, and when Napstablook saw this, he hesitantly invited the pair over to his house. Frisk jumped on the offer right away, hardly even waiting for her Mom's nod of approval.

Napstablook's house was an oddly shaped thing, with an equally oddly shaped house sitting right next to it. They both looked kind of like Napstablook himself when he was looking down, which was often. When asked about the neighboring house, Nasptablook said that a family member used to live there, but that they moved to the capital a while ago.

When they got in the house, Frisk noticed a spider web in the corner. Toriel let them down to investigate it while she went over and talked to Napstablook at his desk. Frisk scurried over to the web, but was disappointed to find that it didn't hold any actual spiders in it, just a flier. It talked about some place called 'Muffet's' in Hotland. Frisk had heard the name Muffet from the spiders in the Ruins, but they'd always assumed that was just the resident spider that made all the baked goods. They never realized they had a whole different shop somewhere else! Maybe Toriel would let them visit one day...

Frisk was distracted from this idea when they heard Napstablook stammering an apology to Toriel.

"Oh don't apologize for bring it up! We'd love to hear you music. Frisk!" Toriel called out. "Napstablook just told me he likes to mix music in his spare time. Would you like to hear some?"

"Y-you really don't have too...-"

"Yeah!" Frisk cried, running over. Naptablook tried to lift them up before he remembered he didn't have arms or a corporeal body, so Toriel was the one to place them on the desk.

"The computer doesn't have separate speakers...so you'll just have to listen from the headphones...sorry about that."

"That's quite alright my friend. If you turn the volume up I'm sure we'll be able to hear it just fine."

Frisk grinned and moved to stand between the speakers of the headphones. These may be quiet to Toriel, but to Frisk the speakers were huge! Standing right between them would be like hearing music at a concert! Plus, it would be a treat to hear something that wasn't Mettaton related or was Sans's trombone.

Napstablook's music was different, to say the least, but it certainly wasn't bad. Spooky, yet somehow more cheerful than eerie. Frisk liked it a lot, and started bouncing with the beat blasting around them. That soon evolved into their own wiggly version of 'the robot' dance. It wasn't until the song ended that Frisk was able to hear Toriel stifling laughter behind them, or notice the awed look Napstablook was giving them.

"Wow...you danced along the whole time...you must have really liked it."

Frisk nodded eagerly and gave the ghost two thumbs up.

"I don't suppose you could make an album for us?" Toriel asked.

After a very flustered Napstablook handed over a disk of 'Spooktackular' music, Toriel decided it was time to head home. As Toriel finally picked out the snails she had come to buy, Frisk couldn't help but be sad that the trip was over. However, they were excited to go home and listen to the rest of the songs. Maybe she could even get Papyrus to play them on his boombox some time.

"Goodbye my friend, thank you so much for your hospitality." Toriel said once they were ready to go. Frisk was back in the dresses breast pocket, and was smiling down at the ghost.

"You're doing amazing sweetie! Keep up the good work!" They called out cheekily.

Who knew it was so easy to get a ghost to blush?


End file.
